Second Chances
by Dr. Becky Sharp
Summary: The next installment in the Passion and Perseverance trilogy. Darcy and Beth have fallen head first into a passionate romance, but will they be able to relinquish enough control to make it a lasting relationship? Will they be able to overcome Mrs. DeBourgh's attempts to separate them? And when a ghost from Darcy's past returns, will their love be strong enough to persevere?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - ******DISCLAIMER**** This chapter contains scenes with explicit sexual content. Please use your discretion/preference when reading.**

She was in heaven. _Or as close as I'll ever be._ Laying in Darcy's bed again, she thought about everything that had happened.

Darcy had kept them in bed all day yesterday — he said to make up for how he had treated her first time — not that she cared what his reason was because the sex had been incredible. She didn't even know how many times she'd orgasmed yesterday. _A lot_ was all that came to mind.

They'd done a few other things too, like eat, and nap together but nothing that involved leaving Darcy's Plaza penthouse. She thought about last night; she had asked him to tell her one thing that no one, or very few people, knew about him. That was when she had learned that he was an artist. At first, when he said he loved art, she thought he meant collecting it.

 _I mean, he's a billionaire, after all. Isn't that what they do?_

He laughed and told her that he enjoyed making art. At her shocked expression, he'd asked to sketch her. She was initially taken aback at his request — he didn't seem like the artsy type, plus she wasn't sure she looked that great at the moment. However, her curiosity to see his talent and to see him work got the better of her and she acquiesced. He put on some Debussy and went to grab his sketchbook and pencils while she finished eating the room service dinner that had been sent up; then he had her sit on the couch, in her sheet, looking out at the city skyline while he worked. The music and his focus on his drawing brought out such emotion in him, she'd struggled to keep her eyes out the window instead of on him.

 _And the fact that all he'd been wearing was a sheet wrapped around his waist._

After fifteen minutes, she couldn't bear the suspense any longer, she stood up to see the result but her sheet got caught on the couch and was pulled off by her sudden movement. When he saw, he focus narrowed on her for a completely different reason and it wasn't until _much_ later that she was able to get a glimpse of that sketch.

It was true, they hadn't talked about much after that but she chalked it up to the fact that they'd been deprived of each other for so long. As much as she wanted him — physically — she was hoping that after work today they would have chance to talk some more over dinner. There was so much about him that was unknown, an enigma, and her curiosity was gnawing at her.

Just as she decided it was time for her to get out of bed and get ready for work, she opened her eyes to see Darcy set a breakfast tray down on the nightstand before climbing on the bed and on top of her.

"Good morning, Mr. Intolerable," she said with a smile, looping her arms around his neck, looking into his molten chocolate eyes which were darkening precipitously as his naked body engulfed hers.

"Oh, it will be," he promised as his mouth took hers.

She responded immediate to the kiss, even though her lips felt bruised and swollen after yesterday. _Be honest._ Everywhere felt swollen and bruised after yesterday and yet her body still responded instantly to him. Her knees coming up on either side of his hips, letting his erection press into her stomach, her nipples hardened against his chest. His kiss made her lose all sense of anything except her need for him, which is why, it was only he broke the kiss that she realized he had somehow tied her arms above her head with a bathrobe sash.

"Darcy, what are you doing?" she laughed, making a poor attempt to free herself.

She felt him smile against her neck as he began to kiss his way down her torso, carefully avoiding her most sensitive areas to torture her. She watched him as he stared at her core for a moment, his jaw clenching with restraint, before he bent over and placed an open-mouthed kiss on her upper inner thigh. She closed her eyes and moaned in protest, trying to turn her hips towards his mouth. His hands held her steady as he kissed all the way down her left leg to her ankle when suddenly she found that limb strapped to the bed post.

Before she could protest, he had anchored her other leg and was standing at the foot of the bed drinking in the sight of her.

"Darcy, what are you doing?" she asked more seriously now. "I have to go to work! You have to untie me or I'm going to be late!"

"You're not going to work today," he bluntly informed her.

 _Oh no. Mr. Intolerably-Controlling-Darcy was back._

"Darcy, I have a job. I have to go to work. Phil has already been too lenient with me," she begged.

 _You know you want to find out what he has in store for you._ Stop. _Just call in sick._ No! That's not the point!

"Darcy, you can't just force me to stay home like this!" she exclaimed, half laughing and half agitated that he was trying to control her again.

"Oh I won't be forcing you, darling," he said. Even though there was a soft smile on his face, his eyes were full of hard, unyielding desire. It was like he wasn't even hearing her and that's when she knew she was in for trouble.

She knew she'd cave in to his unyielding desire and she knew she was going to resent both of them for it.

She watched as he climbed back onto the bed, a taunting smile on his face as his mouth headed directly for her core.

 _It was going to be a difficult and delicious three months._

His kiss directly on her folds caused her hips to jerk up off the bed at the bolt of pleasure that rocketed through her.

"Darcy, please," she begged, "I need…to..go to…work." She tried to sound serious but her body was fighting against her mind, wanting, needing the pleasure that he was giving her. She moaned as he feasted on her, trying to maintain her sanity

"Do you really want to go to work?" he asked, pausing his kiss right on the verge of her orgasm.

"Yes," she responded breathlessly, even though her body screamed _No!_

Another kiss directly on her clit, bringing her right to the precipice. She moaned in protest, her hips trying to find his mouth, to find her release.

"I know what you want and it's not to go to work," he countered darkly as he pushed two fingers inside of her. Her muscles spasmed around him, needing more. "Tell me you want to stay and I'll give you what you want."

Her head thrashed to the side as she tested her restraints. She didn't…couldn't…give in but her mind was weakening over the demands of her body. He toyed with her, keeping her on the edge of her orgasm, her muscles in a constant state of flex, looking for release. She moaned over and over again, each time the noise severed the threads of anger and reality that she tried to hold on to.

" _Tell me,"_ he demanded.

 _"_ _I want to stay!"_ she yelled at him in frustration, every piece of her needing release.

"Good girl." He gave her a satisfied smile before his mouth covered her again. His tongue swirled her clit as a third finger entered her, pushing her over the edge.

" _Darcy!"_ she screamed his name as her orgasm rocked her, her limbs pulling against the restraints. Finally succumbing to the release that she had been resisting for so long, the waves of her orgasm kept rolling through her as his tongue continued to tease her until her body finally relaxed in complete satiety.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for her, Darcy wasn't done with her yet. Before she'd even had the strength to open her eyes, she felt his mouth on her right nipple and his hand on her left breast.

"Darcy…" she whispered, unsure of what she was even going to say.

She felt him smile against her breast as he sucked her nipple hard into his mouth, eliciting a gasp from her as the familiar static of pleasure ran to her core. He bit and sucked and teased each nipple in turn until she was squirming in pleasure again, feeling like she could come just from his attention to her breasts alone.

"Now tell me what you want, Beth," he instructed her, giving her nipples a respite as his hand went to her soaking core. "I know what you want. I can _feel_ what you want," and to emphasize his point, his two fingers entered her again as her body jerked towards him against the restraints. "I want you to tell me. _Now."_

Through her pleasure-induced distraction, she heard the harshness in his voice; he was just as on edge as her and was fighting himself for control. She wanted to make him give in, to lose control but she was too far gone to resist him this time.

" _You. I want you,"_ she confessed on a moan. She wasn't even sure what she had said came out intelligibly until she felt his fingers leave her, replaced with the blunt head of his erection.

"God how I want you," he said in awe as he thrust completely inside her with shout.

Her over-stimulated senses were on edge immediately at the friction and pressure of having him thrusting, burying himself inside her. She managed to open her eyes and look up at him. Every muscle taut, his hands gripping her hips like his life depended on it as he drove into her. His head was thrown back, neck and jaw muscles clenched; _God, he is gorgeous._

"Please," she whimpered, begging for release.

His hand found her clit and it took one experienced stroke to send her soaring over the edge. Her scream pierced the air as her orgasm rocked through her. Her muscles clenching around him, he roared as he slammed into her, finding his own release. For a minute they both simultaneously rocked against each other, riding out the waves of pleasure.

Collapsing again against her restraints, she vaguely felt through the haze of pleasure that the restraints were beginning to cut into her skin causing a sharp, burning pain at any slight movement.

"Darcy," she said breathlessly, "please..it hurts."

The pain transmitted in her voice roused him and he immediately looked at her with concern. He turned and ran his hands from her hips down her legs to the ties at her ankles, seeing the damage the ties were doing.

 _"_ _Fuck,"_ he cursed as pulled abruptly out of her and freed her ankles and wrists. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

Her relief was palpable even though her joints had been rubbed raw by the ties and burned a bright red; she knew they were going to be bruised tomorrow. His jaw was clenching so hard as he threw the ties onto the floor.

She pushed herself up so she was sitting against the headboard of the bed and began to inspect her injured flesh.

"God, Beth," he began, strained, "I'm sorry. I don't —. I haven't —. Fuck me. I'm sorry." He was clearly angry at himself for how he had treated her. At a loss for words he abruptly stalked into the bathroom, returning with a warm moist washcloth.

When he sat down on the bed next to her, she inched away from him, anger and confusion in her eyes. Defeatedly he held out his hand for her to take the washcloth.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked accusingly, "How could you do that — push me against myself?"

"I know, _fuck,_ I'm sorry, Beth. I can't explain what came over me." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I just needed you so badly," he ended quietly.

Grabbing the washcloth from his hand, she quickly slid off the bed.

"Well, you need to figure out a way to explain it because if you keep using my need, my desire for you against me, I don't know what is going to happen. _Now, I need to go to work._ " With that threatening statement, she stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Leaning back against the door she took a shaky breath to calm herself, ignoring the rogue few tears that trailed down her cheeks.

 _How was this ever going to work?!_

Yes, she was pissed at him for tying her up and pleasuring her into submission but she was even more pissed at herself because she was such a pushover around him. She wanted him; she wanted to be with him; _she wanted to stay home from work with him._ But that wasn't the point. She needed to maintain her own life if this was ever going to work - and especially if it wasn't. The struggle between the part of her that was her independent, proud self, and the part of her that was the closet, hopeless romantic waiting to be swept off her feet made keeping Darcy in his place difficult. She knew that for both their sakes, for the sake of their relationship, he had to relinquish some control; it was hard to force him to do that when all her body wanted to do was to let him take control.

She turned the shower on cold and stepped right in - a frigid punishment for letting her emotions get the best of her around him. _Well, no more,_ she thought as she took the fastest shower ever. Wrapping her towel tightly around her, she steeled herself to face him again, knowing that whatever needed to be said was going to have to wait until tonight because she needed to be to the office five minutes ago.

She opened the bathroom door to an empty bedroom. Too stressed and rushed and just emotionally unprepared to confront him again, she quickly got dressed - thankful that he had left her in peace. The limited wardrobe she had at his place luckily contained a long-sleeve blouse and pants to hide the red marks marring her wrists and ankles. Walking out of the bedroom, he was still no where to be seen. She wished she was less nosey as she began to quickly check all the rooms in the penthouse. As angry as she was, she wanted to see him before she left but he was no where to be found. She'd just checked the spare bedroom past the office when she heard a loud crack coming from behind the locked door at the end of the hall.

Startled, she placed her ear up against the door but again heard nothing.

 _You don't have time for this, Beth._

Her mind was right, she had to get to work. She didn't know what was behind that door in the first place, let alone if it was actually Darcy in there. Grabbing her laptop bag and purse, she rushed out of the apartment praying that traffic wouldn't be a nightmare this morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _Only thirty minutes late. Not so bad, right?_

Beth grimaced as she sat down at her desk and opened up her computer, waiting for the emails to roll in.

 _Knock._ "Beth?" Phil opened her office door and stepped inside, closing it behind him.

"Hey, sorry I'm late this morning. It's been a crazy weekend," she apologized lamely.

"That's alright. I know your family has had a lot going on lately but I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things," Phil began, taking the seat across from her desk.

"Of course." He looked serious and Beth wouldn't blame him if he threatened to fire her, she'd been so distracted lately.

"First, about the DeBourgh account, Mrs. DeBourgh did contact me and she does still want to continue to use us however, she asked that I, personally, be in charge of her account. I don't know what happened, but after your email, I was prepared for the worst. However, while she was very displeased with you, for what seemed like personal reasons, she doesn't want to change firms at this point. So, if you could email me all of your files and notes for that account I would appreciate it."

"Of course." Her answer hesitant for a moment out of surprise at his revelation. She was sure after their last conversation that Mrs. DeBourgh was going to fire Gardiner - or worse, because of her.

 _What was she planning?_

Her thoughts immediately went to an ulterior motive. There was no way this wasn't part of some grander plan to ruin her or at the very least spy on her. Beth knew how determined Mrs. DeBourgh was that Darcy should end up with Anne and this could only be another move to make sure that came to pass. "I'm sorry about that whole situation. All I can say is that because of my family and our relative closeness to certain people, she was using me and our business relationship for personal reasons that I wasn't comfortable with; when she began making demands on my personal life, I had to put my foot down. I don't trust her and I would be very careful in how you handle your future dealings with her."

"I see. You know you are like family to me and I know that you would never do anything to purposefully jeopardize the work that we do here. Having spoken with her, I get the sense she isn't used to people standing up to her or denying her what she wants. So, I can understand where the conflict might have arisen and I will be cautious with her in the future."

"I also wanted to talk to you about, well, you," he began again, "I know we try to keep our relationship professional but I'm asking you this both as your boss and as your family. Are you ok? Your father and I have both noticed how distracted and lost you've seemed lately; it's really been out of character for you and I just want to let you know that I'm here if you need anything."

 _Lost was an understatement._

"Thank you. I've been struggling with some things but I think I've got a handle on it now. I appreciate your concern," she replied sincerely, feeling blessed to have such caring people in her life.

"That being said, I've been very understanding with everything going on with your family and about the DeBourgh situation; however, I can't continue to cut you slack here at the office even though you are like family to me, and I don't think you would want me do. I expect you to be here on time and performing - you are the head of this team for a reason," he concluded sternly.

"Of course. It won't happen again. Thank you," she responded, knowing how hard it was for him to reprimand her like that but she understood and was grateful. She couldn't continue to take advantage of their family relationship; plus, she needed some semblance of normalcy in her life right now.

"Great. Now, I have a new client from you. She's just back from the Europe, a pretty well-known artist over there and wants to do a few select exhibits of her work here. Obviously the whole press thing you will have under control, however, she also asked if we could recommend any events coordinators and on a whim, I told her that you also do event planning; because you do, and you are excellent at it."

At Beth's shocked and silent reaction, he continued, "I know you enjoy it and after my brief discussion with Mr. Darcy the other week, I've really been thinking about expanding the company to include more comprehensive event planning as well as the associated PR. I think strengthening this could be huge for the company; I want potential clients to look to us for all their event needs, not just for ones associated with specific PR goals. What do you think?"

"Well, I, um… yeah, I mean I think that is a great idea," she stammered, trying to quickly process what she was being asked to do. She'd only ever planned her family's events and a few select parties for old clients of hers, aside from helping with the DeBourgh party, but it couldn't be much different, right?

"Are you ok with that?" Phil asked again, still waiting for her acceptance.

"Of course! I'd be happy to. Sorry - I wasn't prepared for that at all, but I can definitely do it, not a problem. Who is the client?" she replied more confidently.

"Well, I think you met her briefly but, it's actually Charles' older sister, Caroline Bingley. All the more reason I thought it would be a great place to test out this new aspect of the business."

"Oh, wonderful!" Beth exclaimed. She barely remembered meeting Caroline, thanks to the champagne she'd consumed the night of Jane and Charles' party, but she recalled a tall, voluptuous blond who'd greeted her warmly; if she was anything like Charles, working with her was going to be a treat.

"Awesome, I'll email you her contact info and we'll go from there," Phil said as he stood up to leave, "And remember, Beth, anything you need, I'm here for you."

She gave him a small nod and a smile as he left the room.

Opening up her calendar, she reoriented herself to her schedule - three events this weekend. Her assistant, Cindy, would be handling the new book release for the latest James Patterson novel on Saturday; her other assistant, Alaina, would be attending the soft opening for one of the newest restaurants in the city, ABC Kitchen. Beth would be working the major event of the weekend - a masquerade to celebrate a combination birthday party/movie premier after-party for her client, Renée Zellweger's, latest film - _Bridget Jones Baby;_ she was actually excited for that one.

Her office line began to ring.

"Hello, this is Beth."

"Hey, I just tried your cell but you didn't answer," Jane responded from the other end.

"Sorry, I put it on 'Do Not Disturb' - trying to focus on work this morning."

"It's ok. I just wanted to check in. You haven't been home all weekend, I thought maybe you had decided to stay with Char for a bit on account of Charles and I, but I just saw her this morning and she asked what you've been up to because she hasn't heard from you…" Jane trailed off.

She'd kept the whole staying-with-Darcy quiet, letting everyone assume what they wanted as to where she was. _It was only one weekend, who was going to notice? Of course Jane would._

"Sorry - I was going to tell you. I've been staying with Darcy," she paused pregnantly, waiting for Jane's reaction.

"Oh, I didn't realize," she replied, clearly startled, "So, everything is ok between you? What happened?"

"I'm not sure." _Understatement._ "We are trying to figure things out between us. I'll talk to you about it later though but, if you could keep in on the down-low for now, especially from mom; I don't want any unnecessary drama or gossip to crop up," Beth begged her sister.

"Oh, ok. She's pretty preoccupied right now anyway but I can cover for you. I just want to make sure that you are doing what's best for you; I know you love him but I don't want to see him take advantage of your feelings." Jane's concern for her was evident.

"I'm good, really. Thank you," Beth tried to sound confident, even though she wasn't right now, "I'll talk to you later."

"Ok, bye."

She appreciated her sister's concern, but she needed to figure this out on her own. What happened between her and Darcy was theirs and it was hard enough for the both of them to let each other in, it was only going to make things more complicated if she tried to bring other people into the mix. She needed to be stronger with him; she needed to control her emotions, and no one was going to be able to help her do that but herself.

The ding of an incoming email had Beth return to her computer. She did a double -take on reading the email address of the sender: mrintolerable . She couldn't suppress the smile that stole over her face. _Someone was definitely feeling guilty._ She also couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Mr. Cool-and-Collected asking his IT guys for a company email for "Mr. Intolerable;" it was such a small thing, but it achingly tempted her to forget her anger and disappointment from this morning.

 _No, Beth. You have to stay strong. He'll never change if you don't make him._

Acknowledging that, she opened up his email.

 _Subject: Dinner_

 _Beth,_

 _I know we didn't leave things on a good note this morning, but I look forward to seeing you for dinner tonight. And to making it up to you afterward._

 _Please._

 _Yours,_

 _Mr. Intolerable_

 _P.S. - I put a keycard for my place in the outside pocket of your bag._

She smiled at his continued use of her nickname for him; it was meant to be an insult, yet, every time he used it, it seemed like it had become an endearment to him. It still didn't make up for how he had treated her, or that he didn't even ask her about dinner, just assumed that she would be coming back to his apartment - _with her very own keycard!_ It was like the weight of what she had agreed to had sunk in; she was living with Darcy and the thought gave her goosebumps.

 _At least he said please._ It was still a long way from an apology, or a request - the nagging voice inside her head reminded her. _You know you want to be made up to._ She crossed her legs at the surge of desire that spread through her; she did, but now wasn't the time to think about that. She needed to stay strong. Opening up a new message, she responded:

 _Subject: Re: Dinner AND Conversation_

 _Mr. Intolerable,_

 _You did not leave things on a good note this morning however, I look forward to talking to you at dinner tonight. And being apologized to afterward._

 _Thank you,_

 _Beth_

Send. She clicked the button before she had a chance to second-guess her decisive tone; he needed to know that she meant business.

Deleting his email, she refocused her thoughts back onto work. Opening up two more emails, she messaged her assistants giving them the pertinent details for the events that they needed to supervise this weekend.

 _Cindy,_

 _You'll be at the Patterson "Bullseye" event on Saturday at the Midtown Barnes & Noble. We will need photos of the crowd, James with some of his readers, as well as him autographing copies. I also want you to Snapchat during set-up and_ _during the event. We will need quotes from readers before/after meeting James and if you could Facebook Live interview some of the crowd on James' account that would be great._

 _He will want Fiji water on hand and prefers to be called James, not Mr. Patterson._

 _We will meet on Monday to go over the images and interviews to create copy to go out._

 _Thanks,_

 _Beth_

 _Alaina,_

 _You'll be in charge of the ABC Kitchen soft opening on Friday night from 8-11pm. I want you there getting photos of the chefs and staff before the event starts ad while the food is being prepped. Chef interview - "What made you want to pursue this culinary line? What are your favorite options on the menu?" etc; feel free to live feed some of the Q &A's as well. Once the food is out, pics/video/snapchat of the party and initial reviews of the food - the basics._

 _You've handled these before, if you could have a rough draft of the social and print copy to go out to me on Monday that would be great._

 _Thanks,_

 _Beth_

After making sure her team had everything they needed for the weekend, she ran next door to Starbucks to grab a coffee and a sandwich for lunch. When she got back up to her office, she decided to keep working while she ate and proceeded to do some preliminary research her new client, Caroline Bingley. She thought about just calling Jane to see what she knew of her future sister-in-law but she didn't feel like bugging Jane again today. So, Beth began with the easiest, yet, most unreliable source: Google.

She skimmed over the basic facts, some of which Phil had already relayed to her. Caroline, or Caro, Bingley graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in fine art. After spending several years in the city working as an artist and exhibition curator at several of the museums, she abruptly left the states five years ago for Italy. There, it seemed that after her first solo exhibit, her career as an artist really took off.

Finishing her sandwich, Beth switched the search over to images, trying to get a sense of Caroline's artwork and a feel for her style and what she might be looking for in her exhibition space. The first several images were of Caroline herself - a visage that Beth fuzzily recalled meeting at the engagement party: tall, blonde, curvaceous. She clicked through the photos; she could definitely see the resemblance between the two siblings. Although, Caroline didn't seem to have that same depth of openness and warmth that her brother did, but maybe it was just the photos. Finally she reached photos of the artwork itself which was mostly portraits and nude sketches, some in color, mostly in charcoal. Many of the oldest ones were of the same young man who, according to the tabloids at the time, had been her boyfriend whom she had run away to Italy with. _How romantic._ There were more recent nudes that appeared to be of the same person for a period of time, before switching to a new model. The Italian press had nicknamed her "the Art Lover," suggesting that her nudes only consisted of men that she had been in a relationship with. It must not have worked out with any of them though because Caro was back in the states and looking to set up a permanent residence in the city.

Opening up a new email to the address that Phil had given her, she took the first step in contacting her new client.

 _Hi_ _Caroline,_

 _It's Beth Bennet. I just spoke with Phil re: your new gallery and event planning and I'm very excited to be working with you on this. Do you have some free time this week that we can meet for lunch or coffee to go over the details? I'm sorry we didn't get to chat much at Charles' and Jane's party but, I'm looking forward to working with you as it looks like we will be family soon! Let me know when is most convenient for you._

 _Warm regards,_

 _Beth_

Throwing away the sandwich wrapper, Beth opened up iMessages on her computer and pulled up her conversation with Jane.

 _Hey, what do you know about Charles' sister, Caroline?_ She quickly messaged Jane

 _Hi. Well, she only landed in the states right before our party so I hadn't met her before that, but she seemed really nice and very happy for Charles and I. What do you want to know?_

 _Anything really - more so about her professional career. She contacted Phil for a PR agent/event planner, and so he gave me her as a client since we will be family soon._

 _Oh, that's wonderful! She's very talented from what Charles says; I haven't seen any of her work but he said that her work is very popular in Europe and that she's been commissioned by a lot of very wealthy people to do their portraits._

 _It looks like she does a lot of nude drawings._

 _Charles said that she hasn't done many of them recently - that was more when she was younger. He says that's why she went abroad - because their dad wouldn't sponsor a gallery full of nude sketches. He says she's your typical artsy type - very go-with-the-flow, liberal thinker._

 _Gotcha._

 _That's why she doesn't get along so well with her parents, they would have preferred a more structured career for her, according to Charles. I mean, they are close now, but I guess there was a lot of tension several years ago that she moved out and was living in the city with some guy and she didn't even really talk to Charles during that time._

 _Ok, thanks! Just trying to get some background…_

 _Sure. She actually wants to go to brunch with me on Friday to chat a little and go over wedding plans, if you want to come._

 _Thanks, but I don't want to intrude. I'm sure I'll be meeting with her soon anyway._

 _Ok._

Closing the message, she was greeted with the sight of a new email in her inbox from the very topic of her conversation. Opening Caroline's email, she read:

 _Beth,_

 _Thank you for touching base! Very excited to be working together. I'm meeting Jane on Friday for brunch, do you want to join us? That way we can discuss for a bit and then afterward, I can take you over to my gallery space and go over some of my thoughts for the opening. I'm cleaning it up this week, so by Friday it should be semi-presentable_

 _11:30 on Friday at Balthazar - I've already adjusted the reservation._

 _Ciao!_

 _Caro_

 _Well, that was fast._ Beth was intrigued by Caroline Bingley, a woman who had seemingly defied her family, freely involved herself in numerous romantic relationships, and yet still has made a career and name for herself. She genuinely looked forward to working with her. She felt a momentary guilt for joining in on Jane's brunch with her future sister-in-law, but she knew Jane wouldn't mind.

She was about to text Jane again, letting her know the change of plans when she realized it was almost five and that she should head home.

 _No, not home. Darcy's._

The thought of seeing him sent a shiver of desire and anticipation through her. Even though she was still mad and was still determined to punish him, she couldn't help but admit that she missed his overbearing presence.

Packing up her things, she called an Uber to take her back to his penthouse.

 _Hey, Caroline wants me to come to brunch. So, it looks like I will be joining. Hope that's ok!_

 _Of course! See you on Friday, if not before!_

Determined to make the last third of her day just as productive as the rest, she got in the car and emotionally steeled herself for battle.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _Boy, he had pulled out all the stops._ Beth thought, stopping short just inside the door to slide her key back into her bag. There was a giant vase of red roses on the entry table in front of which sat a large glass of white wine. She set down her bag by the door and walked over to the table. In front of the glass was a small note: _Drink Me._

 _Funny,_ she thought as she took a sip of what turned out to be a Riesling, _s_ he did kind of feel like Alice stepping through the looking glass in Wonderland.

Beyond the table, she could see into the dining room where the table was set, but no sign of Darcy. The smell emanating from the kitchen was incredible and her stomach grumbled, reminding her that a sandwich from Starbucks wasn't sufficient for lunch. Out of habit, she took another sip of wine since she was still holding the glass; she realized on swallowing that she should probably wait until she had more food in her if she was going to take control of the situation tonight.

Hearing some commotion, she ditched her heels and quietly crept towards the source of the noise: the kitchen. Peering into the room, her breath caught at what was in front of her; Darcy was standing at the stove, shirtless and in her favorite pair of his sweatpants, with an apron on. She would have laughed at the ensemble, if she hadn't found it so sexy.

 _It must be the wine - it's hitting me already._

She watched him while he finished preparing what looked like a sauce for their meal, the reality of the situation slowly sinking in. _He was cooking for her._ He could have just ordered food, or hired someone to come in and cook for them, but here he was, shirtless and slaving over the stove. She smiled at the effort he was putting into the night.

 _Hopefully he puts that much effort into our much-needed conversation._

He began to whisk some flour into the pan when some of the sauce splashed up onto his hand.

' _Fuck,'_ she heard him mutter as he set the whisk down and moved toward the sink to rinse his hand. His movement brought her into his view and he stopped and stared at her for a moment, seeming surprised to see her.

"Hi," she said quietly, taking another sip of her wine. _Shit._ She wasn't supposed to drink anymore without food.

"Hey," he replied, still awkwardly staring at her. "I didn't think you'd be home so soon." His gaze broke with that comment as he moved to wash his hand.

"Sorry, I got a lot accomplished today so I figured I should head out on time. I didn't know what time dinner was and I didn't want to be late." He didn't sound mad, yet she still felt like she needed to justify why she was back.

"Shit. I'm sorry - it's fine," he said, shaking his head at himself, realizing how he had sounded. "I just was hoping to have it finished and ready before you got here. My meal preparation is a little unglamorous." He explanation was hesitant, still unused to having to explain himself. It was a little thing, but she gave him credit for his attempt.

"Dinner will be ready in five. I made chicken and mushroom marsala," he continued as he pulled a dish out of the oven and began to pour the sauce over whatever was in it, "I hope that's ok." He looked up at her with genuine concern as if it just occurred to him what would happen if she didn't like that meal.

"Yes," she said with a small, reassuring laugh, "I love mushroom marsala."

"Good," He visibly relaxed and then continued, "If you want to change and relax, I'll just finish up here."

He was clearly uncomfortable with her watching him cook and trying to shoo her from the kitchen. As much as she was enjoying herself, she had bigger things to unnerve him about.

She smiled and said, "Ok." Taking one last look at the gorgeous, proud man, who would have thought having an audience while cooking would make him feel so vulnerable?

She almost took another sip of her wine but realized what she was doing just as the glass touched her lips; she set it on the kitchen counter before turning and leaving the room. _She did actually want to change, but into what was the question._ She'd only had her work clothes and the clothes from the party; she hadn't really needed anything else over the weekend but now, she knew showing up naked to dinner, while it might further Darcy's plans for the evening, would not help hers.

Walking into the bedroom, she opened up the closet, figuring she would have to find something if his to wear.

 _How did my stuff get here?!_

The left side of the closet was lined with some of her clothes from her apartment and some clothes that weren't hers, but were her size and style; she knew because they still had the tags on them.

 _Looks like somebody went shopping for me._

Opening the drawers below, she found some of her lounge and gym clothes in one and then an underwear drawer below it.

 _Well, there are definitely some new additions to this one,_ she thought as she pulled out a pale teal, lace teddy.

While she appreciated the thoughtfulness and the new clothes, she didn't want to give any appearance of having completely forgiven him yet so she pulled a comfy t-shirt off the hanger and her favorite pair of yoga pants - the ones that had been involved in their kitchen interlude - and threw them on.

"Beth, dinner is ready," she heard him say from the hall; he hadn't ventured into the closet to find her.

"Ok, I'll be right there."

She went into the bathroom to pee and make sure her hair and ensemble wasn't too sloppy. _Ok, and maybe to reinforce that she wasn't always going to respond immediately to his beck-and-call._ She needed to take back some control, for herself, and for the sake of any future relationship between them. So, she took an extra, un-rushed, minute while fixing her hair, making sure she was satisfied with her appearance. _And making sure it was clear that she wanted him to be waiting on her._ She knew how he was, how he is used to getting what he wants when he wants it. She knew that he expected her to walk out the moment he had told her that dinner was ready, and it was probably killing him to sit and wait, without coming to check on her or demand her presence. She wasn't trying to be petty about it but it would take baby steps like this to teach him to respect her enough to relinquish some of his demanding control.

 _Ok, game time - time to go._

She took a deep breath before walking out of the bathroom and into the arena _a.k.a. the dining room_. Instantly noticing the hard stare he gave her when she entered, and how his hand was clenched around his wine glass, she knew that he was restraining himself, trying not to blow all of his hard work at an apology.

"Thank you for waiting," she said with a brilliant smile, knowing that it was just as important to praise his efforts as it was to test his boundaries.

Taken aback by her apology, he returned her a small smile and said, "I refilled your wine glass."

"Thank you," she responded as she sat down, taking in the rest of the display.

A vase of roses, equal to the one in the hall was in the center of the table, flanked by two lit candles. There was a larger bowl full of what looked like caesar salad and then the main course, Chicken and Mushroom Marsala over penne, sitting in front of them. As soon as she sat, Darcy stood and leaned over to take her bowl and fill it with salad before filling his own.

"So, how did you get my clothes?" Beth asked, breaking the silence.

"I still own the building…" he trailed off with a laugh.

"So you broke into my apartment?!" she said with some indignation. _Not quite how she wanted the conversation to start._

Seeing her agitation, he quickly responded with seriousness, "No, I called your sister first and asked if it would be ok to grab a few of your things."

"Oh…" Beth muttered. _Why did she always jump to the worst conclusion?_ Usually because Darcy employed the worst means, even if it was with the best intentions. "Well, thank you. And thank you for the new clothes I saw too, I don't need them though."

"You're welcome," he said, his eyes flaring as he continued, "I know you don't need them, but I wanted you to have them."

Beth just nodded as she took a bite of her salad to break his gaze. _God, she really turned to mush around him._ Even when he was being only slightly overbearing, she still wanted him so badly. _At least he put a shirt on, otherwise you would have never been able to make it through dinner._

"How was work?" he asked hesitantly; whether the hesitation came from his earlier mistakes or from the simple fact that he probably hadn't had normal relationship conversation for a long time, she wasn't sure.

 _Take it easy, you haven't eaten dinner yet._

"Good. Busy. There are several events going on this weekend that I needed to prepare my team for. I also met with Phil about some of his, uhh, concerns and then he told me that he's thinking of expanding the event-planning side of the company and he wants me to head it up, which I would love to do," she paused to take another bite of her salad, thinking to ask him his opinion of Charles' sister next.

"Do you have an event this weekend?" he asked; his tone suggesting that he might have had other plans for them.

"I'm covering the private premier party for Renée Zellweger's new film, _Bridget Jones' Baby._ Well, usually it's just her birthday party, but this year it happened to coincide with the premier of the film, so everything got rolled into one _"_ she responded, taking another bite of salad to stop herself from ramming and to watch his reaction.

Darcy's mouth thinned and hand was holding his fork so tightly that his knuckles were white. _Interesting._

"I'm going with you," Mr. Intolerable responded, matter-of-factly.

"As my date?" _Seriously? I think he knows you mean as his date,_ she chided herself. She wanted him to go with her; she was going to invite him until he demanded that he go with her.

"Yes."

"Well, it's a private event for work, I'm not sure I can or should bring a date." _Liar._ It was a lie, she could bring someone, but she was annoyed with his demands and wanted to see how far he would go.

"I don't want you going without me," he responded. His gaze hard and unwavering as it bore into hers.

"Darcy, it's my job. You can't just invite yourself or force me to bring you," she countered, just as resolutely.

His gaze turned to fire as he stood to serve the main course, needing a physical distraction from imminent loss of control.

"I was going to invite you," Beth continued, softly. She didn't want to fight with him; she wanted to move forward, not stay locked in this battle for control.

He stopped and gave her a questioning and confused look.

"I was going to invite you," she said again more firmly, "Until you just demanded that you were coming along. You can't just order me around, Darcy. This isn't going to work if we both aren't equal partners in our relationship."

He finished serving them in a pensive silence before sitting back down and capturing her gaze again.

"You're right. I'm sorry," he said tightly. He sounded pained, but she knew it was regret over his behavior rather than being forced to apologize. "I don't have to go; it's probably better that we aren't seen in public just yet. I don't want Cathy to go and do something stupid."

 _Cathy?_ Beth gave him a puzzled look.

"Mrs. DeBourgh," he clarified.

 _Oh God - she'd completely forgotten about her and her threats._

"Well, it's not really public. It's a private party so it's only open to the cast and their close friends but it's also a masquerade, so no one would know that it's you," she explained, hesitantly offering an olive branch to resolve the situation.

"Oh." _Was it her or did he sound disappointed?_

She continued to look at him, afraid that he wasn't going to answer her. Maybe it was too big of a risk, so early in their relationship; she didn't want to jeopardize her family or Gardiner anymore.

When he saw that she was staring at him, he quickly realized his hesitation. "Of course I'll go with you," he said resolutely as he began to eat.

Beth took a few bites of the meal that he had made, taking a second to decompress from their small battle and enjoy the food and the moment; his cooking was amazing, not that she was a food critic, but based on how he seemed earlier, she had wondered what sort of mean she was in for.

"This is really delicious, thank you," she complimented him, knowing that he seemed anxious about it earlier, even if he would never admit to it.

"Thank you. It's one of my classics," he replied, still focusing on the food.

"One of your classics?" she asking with a laugh, "What does that mean? What are the others?"

"I have a set of meals that I consider to be classic crowd pleasers," he said matter-of-factly.

 _I wonder how many other women his 'meal' has pleased._ She shook her head slightly at the unwelcome thought that crossed her mind. She didn't want to think about him cooking for other women.

Darcy noticed her silent movement and, as if reading her thoughts, continued gruffly, "I don't usually cook for other people, mostly just when Georgie comes to visit; she tells me which ones are really good."

It wasn't an explicit, 'I've never cooked for another woman except my sister before," but then again, she hadn't had the courage to ask him that question outright. _Probably because she was afraid of what the answer might be._

"When did you learn to cook?" she asked.

His face shadowed, but he answered her question, "I would help my mom when I was younger, before she passed away. I picked it up again only a few years ago though. I was going through some…things… and one day when Georgie was here, she asked me if I would cook for her. So, I did and then it kind of became our thing."

The love he had for his mom, and especially his sister, was palpable in his answer as was the pain he felt when he reflected back on his past; she could tell it was hard for him to open up about it.

"So, what's your favorite meal that you make?" she asked, trying to lighten up the conversation as they finished their meals.

"Fettuccini alfredo. By far," he said without hesitation.

"So why didn't you make that tonight?"

Laughing, he explained, "Because when I made it for Georgie, she said that it was too good that I couldn't make it for her anymore otherwise she would get fat; I didn't want you to not eat enough because the meal was too fattening."

At his response, Beth burst out laughing. Sure, she tried to exercise or run on a semi-regular basis, but she'd never been one to be _that_ concerned about how much she was eating. She ate relatively healthy ninety percent of the time; the other ten percent, she let herself enjoy. She also laughed at the fact that he had thought so much about making sure she wasn't concerned about getting fat on his dinner, and yet whether she liked mushrooms or not didn't even cross his mind.

"You have nothing to worry about there - I will always eat enough, if not too much," she informed him wryly, bringing a smile to his face.

"Good to know," he began, "because I plan on making sure you burn through all those calories." His eyes smoldered at the end of his statement, sending a searing heat straight through to her core.

She crossed her legs as she felt a familiar dampness between her thighs; he noticed her movement and smiled appreciatively, knowing the physical effect that he had on her. Her face flushed, remembering the promise from his earlier email. She ducked her head so as to not fuel any more flames; she still had a goal to accomplish tonight.

"So, what's for dessert?" she asked as she toyed with the remaining few noodles on her plate, trying to draw the conversation back onto food. _Or anything that isn't going to get you in trouble._

When he didn't answer right away, she looked up to see why he was silent and found his molten stare practically undressing her.

"I'm looking at it," he replied hoarsely, and he looked as though he would take her right there on the table if she give the slightest hint of acquiescence.

 _Deep breath. Take control, there's plenty of time for mind-blowing sex later._

Collecting herself, she gave him her best unaffected, all-business stare and responded, "I'm glad you're seeing our conversation as a treat instead of a chore."

Her tart reply managed to dampen his sexual aura; his mouth thinned and he stood up, mumbling that he would be right back. Beth took his thirty-second absence to regain her composure, her senses only still slightly heightened by her attraction to him when he returned with a large bowl of fresh fruit mixed with chocolate-covered strawberries.

"This looks wonderful - thank you," she smiled sweetly, picking up a strawberry and biting half off into her mouth. She'd meant for her action to bring down the sexual tension between them, but when she saw his response, Beth realized that she'd done the exact opposite of what she had intended.

Licking her lips elicited a muffled groan from Darcy that had her nipples hardening instantly. The desire between them was thick and heavy; it was like kerosene begging for a match to be struck. Her body pleaded for release but, thankfully, her mind remained resilient. She set the other half of the strawberry down on her plate, not wanting to ignite a spark.

"We have to talk about this morning," she began, her voice thick with a mix of desire and desperation.

Her eyes begged him not to push her away, but as she spoke the words, she saw the hardness begin to take hold on his face; his mask of composure struggling to take over and shut him down.

"Please," she added softly, knowing that blowing up at him over what he did wasn't going to help either of them or the issues between them. She needed to coax out of him the trust and openness that she knew was inside. _She hoped was inside._

At her plea, his mouth thinned yet he acknowledged her statement with a slight nod.

"It's not that I don't want to be with you, that I didn't want to stay with you, but I have other obligations. I have my own life that I've worked hard to achieve and I need you to respect that, and me."

"God, I know, Beth. I'm such a fucking asshole," he said vehemently, shocking her with his outburst as he ran his hand roughly through his hair.

"What happened this morning?" she asked calmly, trying to keep the emotions level before either of them did something else that they would regret. "You were so determined, it was like you couldn't even register what I was saying."

"There are some things you need to know about me," he began, standing up abruptly to walk to the sideboard and pull out a glass, proceeding to fill it with what looked like Scotch or whiskey. He half turned back towards her and held up a glass, "Do you want some?"

"No, thanks…" she responded quietly, giving him the space to continue his explanation.

He took a sip of his drink, still facing away from her, waiting for his liquid courage to soak in. When he turned around, she could see the difference in him. His face, his expression was completely composed, cool, and nonchalant, but in his eyes, the pain that he was reliving by sharing whatever had happened was vibrant.

"Fuck," he muttered, running his hand through his hair one more time, "First, you have to know that my whole life I've been groomed to be dominant, to be controlling. I was the only son, the one who had to take over our firm, our corporation, our 'business empire,' as my father liked to refer to it," scoffing at his last statement. "When it came to school or business, I was conditioned to take immediate, absolute control of any situation or suffer the consequences."

"What were the consequences? Did he abuse you?" Beth couldn't help but interject, imaging Darcy beating physically punished as a young child.

"No; I mean, not in any significant way physically, but mentally, emotionally, I'm sure you could say that. _Fuck,"_ he paused to take another sip of his scotch. "He wasn't a bad person, he just had standards; standards that were clear-cut and non-negotiable; standards that I was measured on for more than half of my life. Sometimes I think he resented me for being smarter and savvier than he was, and that was why he couldn't even meet the standards that he set and probably why he decided to keep George Wickham so close; George wasn't a threat to him. None of that fucking matters now; I don't know how to be anything else, that's what I'm fucking trying to say."

"It's ok, I understand," Beth replied soothingly. She didn't want to ask about the specific memories that must be playing in his head right now, they were clearly painful and frustrating him. Trying to sound as calm as possible, she continued, "But, being with me isn't business, it's a relationship. Surely there's a distinction in your mind between the two, right? You shouldn't need to feel like you are controlling me…"

His reaction to her response was immediate; the knuckles on his hand holding his drink turned white, his jaw muscles clenches, and his eyes looked like they turned black. _I guess that's not the whole story._ Just as she thought he might crush his glass, he raised it and chugged the substantial remainder of the alcohol. Half turning around, he grabbed the decanter to pour himself another drink. _Wow, it must be bad._

"I was in a fucked up relationship, for a long fucking time," he said sneeringly as the alcohol splashed into his glass.

"How long?" Beth asked quietly.

"Six years," he said flatly, turning back to face her. His expression dark and full of anger; even when he had been upset with her, Beth had never seen him like this.

"How was it 'fucked up'?" she hesitantly questioned on.

"How was it not fucked up?" he retorted acidly.

Beth knew better than to take his tone personally, but it was still hard to see him so angry. She didn't say anything this time, she just held his gaze, hoping that he found encouragement in it.

"I was with someone for six years who wanted me to treat her like business, with dominance and control; just like she treated me," he laughed harshly, "Fuck, not even wanted. She expected me to try to dominate her, and if I failed, she would fucking tell me that I was worthless, that I was boring her, whatever-the-fuck-else mind games she wanted to play; just like my fucking father. If I wasn't controlling her, dominating her, fucking her, if I lost control in any way, she would leave; she would disappear for days, or more, ignore me, my calls, and my messages to punish me until I found her, or she let herself be found - who fucking knows. I'd blow up at her and suddenly, I was interesting again."

She knew how difficult this was for him to talk about, how deeply he had been hurt, by the amount of expletives and vehemence in his voice.

"How many times did she leave?" Beth asked softly, in shock, wondering how someone could be so cruel.

"I don't know. Probably three or four times a year; more near the end." He took another swig of his drink.

"Did you love her? Did she love you?" she asked, before realizing what words had come out of her mouth. Her breath caught as if all of the air had been sucked out of the room. The second or two that she waited for his answer seemed like hours in slow motion; her heart clenched painfully at the imminent potential of learning that he had loved someone else.

"I thought I did, but I was a fucking idiot," he said resentfully, "She was a little older than me and I think I was addicted to her. How I am works in my business and when I met her, I was high on that feeling of control and when she encouraged that physically and emotionally, I fucking fed on it; I loved the high of being in control, which I stupidly thought meant that I loved her, even though I didn't; and she sure-as-shit didn't love me." He paused to let out a bitter laugh. "The first time I told her I loved her, she slapped me and told me if I ever repeated those words to her, I would never see her again. Naively, I thought it would just take time for her to develop those feelings for me. The next time I brought up having an emotional relationship, not just a physical one, she tied me down, fucked me, told me that powerful people don't have emotions and that she expected them to be gone for when she got back; she was gone for two weeks."

 _What the fuck is wrong with this woman?!_

"How could someone do that? Or say those things? Emotions are part of a relationship, especially one that lasts six years," Beth said in astonishment.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing; it was no wonder Darcy treated her the way that he did. She didn't think it was possible to separate emotions from sex, yet that was what he had been trained, forced to do, in order to keep happy and stay with the woman he thought he loved.

"She probably knew that; it's probably why she went on her little vacations every couple months, so that she could detach herself from feeling anything substantive," he reflected as he stared into his glass, swirling the liquid around.

"What happened?" Beth asked softly, wondering what had put an end to the relationship - if you could even call it that. _Did she leave him? Or did he leave her?_

"It ended. She left for good, and I moved on," he said, giving the impression that he didn't want to elaborate.

"So, this morning…" Beth trailed off, wanting to know how his brain had interpreted the situation.

"Ahh, fuck," he sighed, "Well, I wanted you, there's no question about that - I always fucking want you; it's distractingly embarrassing. When you said you had to leave for work, even though I knew you wanted to stay with me… She would do that; she did that. She'd want me to fuck her but tell me that she had to go to work or to a meeting and it was all a test. The first time I backed down, she didn't come home for the weekend. I didn't put the two together at the time. The next time it happened, she was gone for a week; that time I asked why and she told me that that is what happens when I let her leave, that I won't know if she'll ever come back," he finished, looking disgusted with himself.

"I'm sorry, Darcy. I'm sorry for what she did. I don't want you to feel like that around me. I'm not like her, I need to know what you are feeling. I need that," Beth pleaded.

"Fuck, I know. But my response, my actions, have been ruthlessly engrained into me and especially around you, I fucking lose control which sends me into overdrive trying to compensate; its like fucking instinct or something. It's like I have no control over being in control. How fucked up is that?" he sneered at himself, finishing his drink.

"It's not your fault," she tried to reassure him. She'd known what it was like have a parent, in her case it was her mom, who was always pushing her in a certain direction. Thankfully, Beth had known that that wasn't what she wanted to do with her life. Unlike Darcy, who was being "coached" into what he did want to do, except that it had been taken too far; it had damaged him.

"How long ago did it end?" she asked, unsure whether she would rather it was recently or have been a long time ago.

"Five years." _Oh, well that was a while ago. He must have learned not to expect that from all women since then._

 _"_ _God,_ all I can think about having you on this table right now," he laughed bitterly at himself, knowing that he would just rather show Beth how he felt about her, instead of painfully trying to tell her. At the same time, he made no move towards her to pursue his desire because he knew that she desperately needed to hear this from him.

His eyes were fire, his words searing right through to her core, bringing back every sensation of need that she had for him. Even though his gaze was filled with desire, his face was taut with the pain of reliving these memories for her sake. Her thoughts became fuzzy; she knew she had more questions, but she also could see how much it had taken out of him to share this much with her already.

God, Beth hated this woman for what she did to him - playing with his feelings, using them against him to satisfy herself. She wouldn't do that to him, she wouldn't punish him for opening up. In fact, she knew she needed to do the opposite if he was ever going to get more comfortable talking to her about this. Every part of her yearned for him and she knew that she'd pushed him enough for one night; it was time to show him just how much she appreciated his openness, his vulnerability and lack of control.

Standing up, she grabbed another strawberry from the dish and walked over to stand in front of him. She took the strawberry into her mouth and slowly bit down into it, making sure to suck the juices clean from the hull. It was a small action, but his response was what she was hoping for - a sharp intake of his breath, jaw clenched, hands twitching at his sides, aching to touch her. She licked her lips clean and said huskily,

"So then have your dessert."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - ***This chapter contains explicit, sexual content. Please proceed at your own discretion. ***

She barely got the words out when his mouth crashed onto hers, his tongue plunging into her mouth, licking and tasting remnants of the fruit she had just eaten. His hands firmly grasped her hips and lifted her onto the table as he moved between her thighs.

Beth was overwhelmed, and not just with the physical sensations this time. She was overwhelmed with everything that she had learned about him tonight, overwhelmed that, albeit reluctantly, he had opened up to her, shared his hurt with her.

 _What could have made her so special?_

That train of thought derailed as she felt the cool air on her stomach and chest and he pulled her shirt up over her head, his fingers then making quick work of releasing the clasp of her bra and freeing her naked breasts to his touch. She moaned into his mouth as he grasped her breasts, one in each hand, and massaged the aching flesh. Each brush and pinch of the erect peaks sent sparks to her fast-moistening core, begging for attention.

His mouth broke from hers as he whispered, "Lean back on your hands."

Resting back onto her palms, her position blatantly offered up her breasts to his admiring and famished gaze. He remained frozen for a second before his head dove down to pull one of the aching tips into his mouth, torturing her by gently lapping and then sucking on it hard.

His hands moved farther south to grab the waistband of her pants and pull them down over her hips and knees, letting her kick them off the rest of the way. Not wasting time or limb, one hand moved to massage her free breast, while the other went straight to her core; she heard and felt the vibration of his groan as his fingers explored the slickness between her thighs.

She closed her eyes, her head falling back as she let her arousal consume her; she felt the fire inside her churning, concentrating where his hand was massaging her clit, his fingers dipping in and out of her. She couldn't tell if she was moaning or saying his name, everything outside of his touch was a fuzzy other world to her as that touch brought her closer to her climax. She felt his mouth leave her breast, and she hazily opened her eyes.

" _Now,_ it's time for my dessert," he said, his voice hoarse with desire.

 _What does that mean?_ She wondered as she saw his hands leave her. Leaning over her, he captured her mouth roughly, drawing her focus away from her thoughts and back to him.

When he broke their kiss, she watched as he swiftly pulled a dining chair in between her legs. Reaching to the side of her, she saw that he had grabbed the bowl of fresh berries from behind her. Picking up a raspberry, he leaned back over her and offered the fruit to her. She opened her mouth and let him feed her the berry, chewing it slowly, watching his eyes as he seemed mesmerized by her mouth. As soon as he saw that she had swallowed, his lips took her, his tongue delving in to taste the berry flavor remaining.

When he was satisfied with his first course, he broke the kiss and moved back to sit in the chair; his gaze never leaving hers; his eyes black with intense hunger.

Even though her arms were starting to feel like jello, she couldn't move as she watched him reach into the bowl again to pull out a blueberry. Her eyes widened as, instead of moving it towards his mouth, his hand moved towards her folds. He gave her a devilish smile as she felt him push the berry inside of her. Once it was inside her chamber, she felt his finger move to her clit and expertly massage it to cause her inner muscles to clench. It was only then that his gaze broke from hers to look down at the juices flowing from her core.

"Mmm… _perfect,"_ he said deeply, a smile of anticipation on his face.

Beth couldn't tell if it was juice from the berry or from her that was coming out, this whole experience was so intensely arousing, she was fighting not to climax around the stupid fruit. All thought left her as she watched his head descend swiftly to lap the juices on her folds. She threw her head back and moaned loudly at the pleasure from his tongue. His hands moved under her buttocks to grasp and pull her more fully against his mouth; it was then that she felt it - his tongue inside her, teasing the berry out of her and into his mouth. Then sensations, the pleasure, the knowledge of what he was doing was too much and her hips bucked against his mouth begging for release. Just at that moment, he pulled his head back, and she watched him chew and swallow the remainder of the blueberry that had been inside of her.

" _Fucking delicious,"_ he said hotly. "I think the Beth-berry is my new favorite dessert."

 _God, he was so good at tormenting her._

 _"_ _Please, Darcy,"_ she begged him.

"Soon," he promised, licking his lips. "I think I'll just have one more."

Reaching back into the bowl, he chose a raspberry this time, placing it carefully inside of her. He toyed with her clit, watching and waiting until pink-tinted juice began to come out of her. Then, his head bent to lap up the liquid, but instead of staying there, he moved back again to watch her.

"How about we try mixed berry-flavored Beth," he said rhetorically, swiftly pulling a blackberry from the bowl and adding to the other one.

Again, his fingers tormented her clit as her head thrashed back and forth, her moans becoming louder and more urgent. Muscles clenching around the fruit, his mouth returned to her to taste his concoction. She felt him moan against her core, the sound and vibration of which almost sending her over the edge.

Finally, she felt his tongue delve deep inside her to pull out the fruit. Her eyes opened barely to watch him as she chewed his dessert while standing to remove his pants. Standing before her, his erection was huge and throbbing; she hadn't been the only one severely affected by his ministrations.

She watched him bend over for one last lick of her folds, shooting electricity through her. Before she could register his movement, he straightened back up, grabbed her hips and slammed completely into her with a harsh yell.

"Darcy!" she screamed his name as pleasure rocked her core, bringing her so close to her climax.

" _Almost,"_ he said harshly, as he drove into her again and again, shaking the table beneath her.

She couldn't hold on anymore, it was too much; she'd been holding back her climax for too long. She felt her legs flex around him, her inner muscles begin to clench—

 _"_ _Come with me now,"_ he demanded.

As soon as she heard his voice, she let go with a scream, her core clenching violently around him as he pounded into her two more times, ending with a shout as his release filled her, coating her still-spasming walls.

 _Holy shit_ was her only thought as the world began to come back into focus. Shifting slightly, she moaned as her arm muscles and elbows revolted from being held under tension for long on the hard, wooden table. Her soft sound of distress revived Darcy from the last vestiges of his sated stupor; he quickly pulled out of her, pulled his sweats back over his hips and, just as she attempted to sit up fully, he reached under her knees and back to pick her up and carried her to the dimly lit bedroom.

Setting her softly on the bed, where her muscles could finally relax, he returned with a warm, wet cloth to cleanse the mix of fluids from her thighs and folds. Her eyes shut, she moaned softly as he sat on his side of the bed next to her and began to massage her upper arms. When he had difficulty reaching her shoulders, he softly whispered in her ear and asked her to turn onto her side.

She faded in and out of a pleasure-sated consciousness as Darcy massaged the tense and knotted muscles in her shoulders and upper back. He moved so that he was propped up, but laying almost against her, allowing his left hand to continue rubbing her shoulder and neck as his right hand subtly snuck around to grasp the weight of her breast, his thumb lazily flicking back and forth over her nipple.

His movements elicited small pleasure-filled moans from deep inside her; half from the relaxation of her upper body muscles, and half from the desirous clenching of her lower ones. It wasn't like early, where her need and her body where immediately on fire for him; this time, the burn slowly built with the small, consistent sparks of pleasure igniting her core.

She didn't know how long she lay as he continued to relax and tease her but at some point she felt her juices start to leak onto her thigh. He seemed to know at exactly which moment that was, because his hand gently released her breast and lazily made its way down her stomach, delving softly into her swollen folds.

 _"_ _Mmm, Darcy,"_ she moaned his name as those same finger found her clit and began their familiar dance over the sensitive bundle of nerves.

She felt his mouth smile against her neck, as he gently captured and bit down on her earlobe.

"Just enjoy," he whispered softly into her ear.

 _How could she not?_ She could hardly move as it was, all she could do was lay there and let the sensations overwhelm her. Her right leg moved up and back to rest on his, opening her center more fully for his hand to explore. He pinched and rolled, flicked and rubbed the sensitive flesh. He relished as her moans became more frequent, as her hips began to push with urgency against his fingers. There was no teasing this time, no intense torture; he knew how much strain he had put on her earlier, this was for her. He brought her to the edge and pushed two fingers inside of her, pressuring that sensitized spot to cause her orgasm to be unleashed. She bucked against his hand and he felt her muscles clenching his fingers.

"Beautiful," she faintly heard him say.

His fingers left her before her orgasm had even finished, only to be replaced by the large, blunt head of his erection. Pushing himself inside her still-clenching passage, he moaned as the muscular undulations massaged his penis.

"One more time, my beautiful Beth," he encouraged her.

She was so exhausted, so sated, she didn't think that she could - even as aroused as she still was.

"You can, just trust me." _How did he read her mind?_

His fingers returned to her clit, still moist from just being inside of her. At first, she was so over-sensitized, that she felt only a burning pain as his fingers rolled the small nub back and forth. Then, he began to slowly thrust in and out of her and any remnant of pain disappeared. Hitting her g-spot again and again, she felt the pressure, tension, and passion build within her, magnified by his fingers on her clit. Soon, she was moaned and rocking her hips back against him, needing more.

"Perfect, now come again for me," he whispered in her ear as he gave her what she needed. Pumping himself faster and deeper inside her, applying more pressure to her core, she shot right up and over the edge of release.

He groaned deeply as the even tighter clenching of her passage pulled his release out of him. He kept thrusting into her, riding out the seemingly endless waves of both of their orgasms

Finally, they relaxed against each other, both too sated and exhausted from the emotional and physical strain to extricate themselves from one another, they fell asleep entwined.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Beth woke to the sound of her alarm starting to go off. Grabbing her phone, she snoozed the offending noise, looking at the clock to confirm that it was seven in the morning.

 _Wow, was she sore. Sore and sated._

Her whole body felt like jello, topping off one of the best nights of sleep that she'd had in a long time. It was weird, she couldn't even remember setting her alarm…

 _Darcy._

She knew he wasn't still in bed with her otherwise he would have been wrapped around her. That was the one thing she had noticed over the past few nights, if he was still in bed when she woke up, he was holding her somehow; she loved it. Half-rolling over just to be certain, she found his side of the bed made, with no signs of its previous inhabitant.

Muscles protesting, she sat up against the headboard and opened up her phone, turning off her alarm and checking her email. Deciding on a nice hot shower to relax her before work, she went to set her phone down on the nightstand again and realized that there was a note waiting for her. _Classic Darcy,_ she thought, smiling to herself a little.

She picked up the piece of stationary and crossed her legs to sit indian-style, resting her elbows on her knees, and began to read:

 _Beth,_

 _I hope your alarm woke you up for the right time. I've had breakfast sent up for you - I'd hate to see you be late to work again._

 _Yours,_

 _Mr. Intolerable_

She smirked at his playful tone. Today, he would be the reason she made it to work on time - the complete opposite of yesterday. Her stomach grumbled, drawing her attention to the other small piece of information in his brief message: breakfast was waiting.

Climbing out of bed, she pulled on her t-shirt and made her way out of the bedroom. She was about to turn and walk to the kitchen, when she saw the breakfast tray sitting in the living room by the couch. She smiled and bit her lip - he knew she loved to watch the city in the morning. She sat down on the couch, pulling the lid off of her plate and browsed over her breakfast; it looked like an egg white omelette, whole wheat toast, and a bowl of yogurt and fresh fruit. She went to pick up the fork and noticed another small piece of folded paper:

 _I didn't think the fruit was as tasty as what I sampled last night._

 _Eat it all, you need the calories._

 _Darcy_

Even as her eyes rolled at his characteristic bossiness, her face flushed at his first statement, remembering what had happened between them in the dining room.

 _God, it had been incredible._

Looking back, she almost couldn't believe that it was her. If she wasn't still feeling the after-effects, she probably wouldn't have. She jumped as her phone buzzed on the table, startling her from her recollections. She set down the note and picked up her fork, taking a huge bite of the omelette. Grabbing her phone with her spare hand, she unlocked it since the text was from Anne.

 _Hey, how is everything going with D?_ Anne asked.

 _Good! For the most part. Just trying to make things work._

 _Oh, good. Just checking. I have no news on the mom-front; I know that Phil is working with us now but I have no idea what she is scheming up next; I'm trying to keep her busy._

 _Ok, well I'll just take it a day at a time._

 _Good luck!_

 _Thanks! Hey, I have a weird question, actually._

 _Shoot._

 _I know you've known Darcy for a long time. Did you know he was in a relationship for several years?_

 _Yes. I'll call you later though - can't talk!_

 _Interesting._ Beth looked down at the plate and realized that she had eaten all of the food on it. Covering it back up, she went back into the bathroom to shower, wondering how much Anne knew about Darcy's past.

Turning the water on hot, she stripped down - momentarily freaking out when she thought her upper inner thighs were bruised; turned out it was just from the blueberries. Stepping into the stream of water she relived their conversation last night. She wasn't too surprised by how his father had raised him; she had initially assumed that that was the sole reason for why he responded to her and treated her the way that he did. To learn that it was because of another woman, that had shaken her, especially when he said it was a woman he thought he loved.

She couldn't understand how anyone could treat another person the way he had been treated; not that she understood a lot of peoples' actions these days, but still. To be so young, in your first 'serious' relationship, and to have the other person constantly breaking you down, forcing you to bury your emotions and be a controlling sex machine all the time; it was abuse, there was no other word for it. _How could he have stayed with her? S_ he wondered. Although it was pretty common for victims to want to stay with their abusers, especially in this case where the abuser made Darcy constantly feel and act like he was in control when the reality was that he wasn't. She couldn't imagine the type of damage that that could do to your mind, even after seeing only some of the repercussions.

Looking back, she saw all of their previous encounters in a new light; everything that Darcy had said and everything that he had done. Every time he had acted on his desire for her in such a dominating and controlling way, was because that was how he had been trained to respond to his sexual urges, how he had been trained to believe that that was the right thing to do and how he had been emotionally punished until that response was instinct for him. _What a bitch._

 _I wonder who she is._

He would never tell her. She assumed that and he probably was right not to; it was in the past and Beth wasn't sure what she would do if she learned the woman's name. She sighed as she turned off the water. She still had so many questions; _has he seen her since she left? What about the other women he as dated and/or slept with since then? How have they handled this? Has he talked to anyone about this? Who else knows what happened with this woman?_ The thoughts were endless - a small part of her wishing she could have just accepted the way things were without opening this can of worms.

She dried off in front of the mirror. _I wonder what she looks like -_ the thought came unbidden to her mind. Throwing her towel onto the floor, she stalked into the closet to get dressed and get to work ASAP; she needed to focus her mind on something else or she was going to go crazy.

Going through the motions, she was out of the door in another 20 minutes with her hair only still slightly damp. Even with stopping next door for her usual coffee, Beth made it to her office half an hour early. It wasn't the best scenario for her inquisitive mind, but it was better than being in Darcy's apartment, where everything reminded her of him. Opening up her computer, she just managed to click on her email when her phone started to ring.

 _Anne._

 _Great - so much for not thinking about Darcy and his abusive ex._ Deep down, she was thrilled to see Anne's name because she was too curious for her own good.

"Hey, thanks for calling," Beth answered.

"Of course! Sorry I couldn't chat earlier, I was at my mom's place and knowing her, the whole building is probably bugged so I figured it was better for me to wait and call you."

"I wouldn't put it past her. I won't keep you, I was just wondering what you knew about Darcy's ex-girlfriend, if anything?" Beth asked, trying to seem nonchalant. She didn't want to reveal everything that Darcy had told her because it was obviously very private and not her information to share.

"I don't know too much. I mean, I've known him for a long time, Beth, I don't actually know that much about his life. We're close friends but only because of having to deal with our parents, and now mostly my mom and her expectations," Anne began, "I know he was seeing someone for a while but he never told me who it was, so that I can't tell you."

"That's ok, I probably shouldn't know that anyway," Beth admitted.

"A few weeks into their relationship, he started to tell me a little about her, and he seemed like he had really fallen for someone. Not long after that though, he started to change. Some days when I saw or talked to him, he would be on top of the world, other days, he seemed almost depressed. I heard him one time on the phone with her, he kept asking where she was, telling her, begging her to come home. When I asked him about it, he just brushed me off and said that he had everything under control, but he was visibly shaken. I don't know what was going on, but it only got worse. Darcy became more distant from everyone and even the mood swings disappeared, but what replaced them was just a cold callousness. It was like he switched off his emotions or something," Anne surmised.

"I see," Beth acknowledged her, processing how Anne's description fit in with what Darcy had told her of this woman.

"Like I said, I don't know who she was. Sometimes I remember having the impression that she was someone that I knew, someone who was in our social circle, but I never saw her or heard him say her name. Whoever she was, she did a number on him though. I mean, if I happened to catch him on one of those bad days, he was like a whole different person. Even his other friends, like Charles, noticed but he pushed us all away. I don't know if he realized he was doing it or she was forcing him to do it, but aside from that relationship, his other ones faded almost into nothing during that time."

"Wow, so he really shut himself out of the world while he was with her," Beth responded, thinking out loud.

"Yeah. Well, his personal world, not his business one. As far as I know, his businesses excelled during that time, but he was either consumed with that or consumed with her."

"I see. What happened when it ended?" Beth asked.

"I remember he didn't show up to work one day, and somehow they ended up calling me trying to find out where he was. So, I went over to his apartment and rang the bell obnoxiously until he answered," here she paused, "I don't know if I should be telling you all this but I guess I can't stop now. He opened the door and I could see clearly that he was completely wasted, with an almost empty bottle of scotch in his hands. I remember his hands were dirty too, smudges of black all over them, it was weird. Anyway, I asked him what was going on, that people were worried about him. He gave me this ugly expression, told me to 'leave him the fuck alone,' and slammed the door in my face. I yelled at him through the door that I would be back tomorrow to talk to him like a normal person. After that I told his office he was sick and wouldn't be in for the day and prayed that tomorrow would go over better. The next day when I got there, he didn't answer the door. I freaked out thinking something had happened and called his office, and they told me that he was in the office bright and early that morning and was feeling much better. I went right over there to talk to him and there was no trace of the anger or hurt that I had seen the previous day; he was like a completely new person. When I asked him about it he said that he wasn't feeling well but he's fine now, in that tone that says that that is where the conversation is going to end; I know you know that one."

Beth laughed because she was quite familiar with that tone.

"That was it. He wouldn't talk to anyone about it, not even Charles. So, I don't know what happened between them or even how Darcy was able to cope with it. If it hadn't been for those few seconds where I saw for myself the effect their break-up had on him, I almost would never have known that they had broken up. After that, though, we started seeing him more. He apologized for being absent, but offered no explanation. He was back to socializing with us, back to being present, but he was never quite the same," Anne finished, her tone sadder than before.

"I see," Beth began, "I can't imagine seeing him like that or watching him go through all of that alone. Thank you for telling me."

"Of course! I hope it gave you some answers. I know I don't know that many details, but I know that it definitely changed him, scarred him."

"It helped, thank you. I won't keep you any longer though. Thanks again, Anne," Beth replied, gratefully.

"Sure!" Anne said, "And Beth, if he has told you more, hell, anything about her, I hope you know how big of a step that is for him. Like, I said, none of us know anything about her or what happened."

"I know," Beth said softly, guilt starting to creep in for wanting to know more.

"He's different since he met you. I finally start to see some emotion back in his eyes, even if it's sometimes frustration." She laughed a little. "They've been empty for a long time; he's been empty for a long time."

"Thanks, Anne," Beth replied, her throat thick with emotion.

"Ok, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

Beth ended the call, sitting frozen for a moment, transfixed on Anne's last words. It felt good to hear an outsider's perspective because all she knew was what she experienced with him personally. She became so focused on the changes that she experienced with him, or sometimes the lack thereof, that knowing someone else close to Darcy saw the difference that their relationship was having on him, gave her hope.

She knew that he was a _very_ closed book, barely sharing his choices with anyone even when those choices directly affected that person, and to hear that in such a short time of being together, he had told her more about his past trauma than even his closest friends had her heart clenching. Especially hearing that she knew more than Charles, shocked her. Maybe it was because she hadn't given him much of a choice - either talk to her or end their relationship, but she had to hope that that wasn't the only reason that he was opening up; she didn't feel like it was, in spite of his in-the-moment reluctance. He'd kept this bottled up for six years, she probably be more concerned if he didn't have reservations about finally sharing it with her.

 _She missed him. UGH._

Looking at her computer, she realized it was nine-thirty already. _Good thing I made it in early this morning._

Finally pulling up her mail, her heart skipped at the message waiting at the top of her inbox - _Mr. Intolerable._

 _Beth,_

 _Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up this morning - I was looking forward to thoroughly rousing you since you thoroughly arouse me. Unfortunately, I had to leave to deal with some management issues in Chicago that required an in-person appearance. I'll be back on Friday. Please, make yourself at home in the apartment._

 _I hope you enjoyed all of your breakfast._

 _I'll call you later._

 _D_

Disappointment washed over her, overshadowing the anticipation his first sentence had caused. She felt like they had made so much progress last night, compared to how things were them before, and knowing that that was going to be put on hold for a few days took her mood in a completely opposite direction. _Chicago. Management._ She would bet money that he was going out there to deal with George. Shaking her head, she hoped everything was ok. Opening up a response, she quickly typed:

 _Mr. Intolerable,_

 _You've earned your name back for leaving so soon. Have a safe trip. I'm looking forward to waking up next to you in a few days._

 _Yours,_

 _Beth_

It seemed like she had barely hit send when her computer dinged with his response back.

 _I'm looking forward to waking up inside of you._

 _Your Mr. Intolerable_

Heat suffused through her body, her mind racing into the fantasy of his suggestion. She wanted to respond and chide him that if he weren't going away… but the thought that his trip was because of her sister and George (mostly George) had her holding back; she wouldn't make him feel guilty over a situation that he was in because of and for her.

Sighing, she closed the message and moved on with her workday, not nearly in as big of a rush for the day to end now that she didn't have Darcy to go home to.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _Darcy comes home today._ That was all her mind had thought about before she went to bed last night and it was what had woken her from her slumber at five-thirty in the morning - almost an hour before her alarm was set to go off.

 _Finally, Friday._

To say that the last few days had passed by slowly would be an understatement. Sure, he'd called her every night and they'd exchanged a few witty emails but nothing beyond surface conversation and some sexual innuendo. _Ok, a little more that some and a little more than innuendo._ The continuance of their last productive conversation needed to be done in person, not remotely, which was why her anticipation was heightened this morning.

 _And because you're tired of sleeping alone._ True.

 _And because you can't wait for him to fulfill all of the dirty promises he's made to you._ Ok, _FINE,_ that too.

Her mind and her body were on edge for his return. Thankfully, it had only been last night that she had struggled to fall asleep, and when she did, the fantasies of Darcy returning home had aroused her even in her sleep.

The day was going to drag if she didn't get up and get busy. It had been a productive week, between meeting with prospective clients, working with Phil on ideas for the new event management branch of the firm, and then prepping her people and herself on the final details for the events this weekend. Forcing herself out of bed, Beth decided a morning run was in order to burn off some of her anxiety. Then she could come back and shower and prep some thoughts and questions for Caroline before meeting her and Jane for lunch.

Throwing on yoga pants and a long-sleeve tee, she grabbed her phone and key and headed out into the brisk, morning air. Entering Central Park from the south, she decided to stick to the two-mile loop so that she wouldn't lose track of time. She picked up a light jog and allowed the steady beat of her footfalls to begin to organize her thoughts; which, of course, immediately reverted back to Darcy's return.

Beth could tell that he was just as eager to see her from the tone of their more recent conversations. His patience for the issues he was dealing with in Chicago was wearing thin; his frustration evident when they had spoken last night about how inefficiently everything was being handled. He hadn't elaborated on the specifics, but Beth knew that it was something involving George and how he was handling his new position. Darcy's frustration had triggered his sexual need for her, the conversation quickly turning to what he wished he could be doing to her right then. Her face heated as she remembered and relived how he had asked her pleasure herself while he instructed her, while he whispered dirty and delicious things to her until she came. Her body burned again just recalling it and she was grateful that her blush seemed just as likely to be coming from the cool temperature as from her hot thoughts. She ached for him, which meant that she couldn't even imagine how he was craving her. Deciding to play it smart and not set her expectation unattainably high, she admitted that today, sex would come first before any discussion; she was prepared for it, the give-and-take. Once they gave in to their physical needs, then they could take focused time to talk.

She started her second loop in the park, forcing her thoughts onto the other things going on today and tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to be crazy - Renée had invited so many more people than usual in her excitement over how great the response to her film had been. Beth was prepared, of course, but she'd always preferred a more intimate gathering; that, and she hoped that Darcy wouldn't change his mind about going when he found out that the crowd was going to be about a hundred people bigger than she expected.

 _If he finds out._ Ugh. She should tell him. _Later._ He wasn't even home yet, she would deal with that bridge when they came to it.

As for today, she'd talked to Jane last night who said that Caroline was really excited to meet her. Beth could tell that Jane was nervous to meet and spend time with her future sister-in-law; Jane was always concerned about people not liking her for some reason. _How anyone could NOT like Jane was beyond her._ Jane's anxiety showed, asking Beth what she should wear, if she'd spoken to Caroline any further, if it was too presumptuous to ask her to be in the wedding, etc. Beth tried to reassure her as best as she could without telling her to just calm down. It was completely normal to ask future persons-in-law to be a part of the wedding party but if Jane wanted to wait until she got Caroline better, that would be ok too. In spite of all that, the fact that Beth was going to brunch with them was the biggest relief for her sister - to know that she wouldn't be alone.

Beth just walked back in the apartment door when her phone buzzed with a text from Jane.

 _See you soon! Are you sure the dress is ok?_

Beth shook her head at her sister, always second-guessing herself. _Yes! It's perfect. See you in a bit._

She quickly jumped in the shower, expediently washing and shaving. She had two hours before she had to meet them at Balthazar and she wanted to send out some last minute emails before she left.

She stepped out of the shower to hear her phone buzzing back on the nightstand in the bedroom. Grabbing her towel to start drying her hair, she darted out of the bathroom to see who was calling. The sudden change in temperature or the caller ID were both equally likely reasons for her whole body breaking out in goosebumps. _Except they weren't equal at all; he was always the reason._

"Hello."

"Hey babe," Darcy's deep, husky voice responded from the other end.

"What's up?" she asked breathlessly, trying to maneuver the phone so she could continue to towel dry her hair.

"I just finished out here. My flight leaves in an hour." The hard edge of anticipation in his voice, unmistakable. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I was up early, so I went for a run. Now, I just got out of the shower," she replied nonchalantly.

She heard his tortured groan.

" _Fuck,_ Beth."

"What's wrong?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"Nothing except that I'm hard as a fucking rock thinking about you all warm, moist, and naked from the shower," was his terse and strained reply.

"Oh…" Her response was soft, her body no longer reacting to the external temperature in the room only the heat from his words.

Recognizing how curt his response sounded, he continued, "I'm definitely not wearing the best pants for this right now, especially if I'm going to sit on a plane for a few hours."

She couldn't help herself from laughing at his tortured admission. Even though the strain in his voice was still crystal clear, he was trying to make light of his situation for her.

"Well, I'm very much looking forward to alleviating that problem for you when you get home," she said coyly.

" _God, Beth!_ Are you trying to kill me?" has asked, half-serious, "The things I would do to you… _will_ do to you when I see you. You better prepare yourself, woman; make sure you get all of your calories in today; you're going to pay for this torture." The words he used made it seem like a joke, but his tone was completely serious. He was deprived of her and he was going to have his fill later.

"Yes, sir," she responded with mock seriousness.

"What are you doing today?"

"Well, I have brunch this morning with Jane and Ca—" she paused when she heard some commotion on his end of the line.

"Sorry, gorgeous. I have to go. I'll see you later." Even amidst whatever he was dealing with, his words held passionate promise - _I'll have you later._

"Ok - have a safe flight. Bye," she responded quickly before the line cut out.

Setting her phone down, it took her a moment to collect her wits and remember what she needed to do. Pulling the towel from her hair, she quickly patted down her body, drying any remaining moisture that was left, trying not to think about how sensitive certain parts of her body had become during that too-brief conversation.

Throwing on her sweats, she went into the kitchen and pulled out an individual-sized carton of Icelandic Skyr yogurt - something to hold her over until brunch. Plopping down into her favorite spot on the couch, she pulled her laptop open on her lap and opened up iMessages and her email. She sent a quick text over to Alaina, checking to see if she had any questions about the SharkTank event tonight. When she responded that everything seemed to be under control, Beth texted back that she had a brunch meeting and then walk-though with a new client but to text or call her immediately if she ran into any issues. She usually didn't hound her people like this, but ever since Phil had come and talked to her earlier this week about her unpredictable performance as of late she'd become slightly overbearing as a response.

Next, she checked on her dress rental for next week that was supposed to be arriving the following Thursday; it was navy blue, sleeveless gown by Nicole Miller. Even though it had a high neck, the front of the dress had a lace-illusion V-neck the fell low on her chest. The lace-illusion details continued on the side of the dress and then onto the back. It was discreetly enticing, leaving something to the imagination, and she had found a blue lace mask to match it. She wanted to feel attractive and blend in but still maintain a level of conservativeness since she was technically working the event - even though Renée was a friend and would argue with that assessment.

Finishing her yogurt, she reviewed the images she'd put together as an idea board for Caroline's studio and exhibition, trying to take into account some things that she knew about her and what she'd been able to glean from her style of art and previous showings.

 _Ten o'clock. Showtime._

Stopping in the kitchen to throw away the container, Beth moved back into the closet to see what her options were as far as clothing for this morning. She decided that a nicer pair of pants and blouse with flats was her best bet since she was going to be spending the afternoon on her feet. She quickly blew out her hair and got dressed, grabbing an Uber to Balthazar, excited to see Jane and meet her newest client.

When the car pulled up, Beth got out and saw Jane standing outside waiting for her.

"Hey, you didn't have to wait! Is Caroline here?" Beth asked, hugging her sister.

"I'm not sure, I haven't gone inside. I just thought I would wait for you," Jane responded, fidgeting shyly.

Beth smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before leading the way into the restaurant. The hostess informed them that the other member of their party was already here and led them over to their table, where the exquisite blond that Beth vaguely remembered from the party was sitting. Caroline was gorgeous, there really was no other way to describe her. Her loose-flowing blond curls were softly pulled back from her face. She was wearing what were meant to be a loose-fitting style of pants, yet they seemed to be made for her body, hugging her curves just enough and in the right places. Her blouse, too, was attempting to be loose except her breasts didn't give it much of a choice. She filled it out and made what most would consider a modest top, appear incredibly enticing. Beth couldn't help but envy those women whose bodies could literally make a sack of potatoes look sexy because that was definitely not her.

On seeing them, Caroline stood up and gave them both a dazzling smile amidst the expertly applied makeup on her face. She came around the table and gave them each a hug and reintroduced herself, her personality seeming much warmer than it had the first time Beth had met her.

"So good to see you both again," Caroline exclaimed as they all took their seats at the table.

"You too! I'm glad we could meet up and get a chance to hang out and chat. Charles has told me so much about you," Jane replied warmly with a smile.

"I'm sure some of it was not-so-flattering," Caro said with a laugh, "I don't have the best track record with my family, but I'm working on it."

 _Well, she was definitely a straight-forward, no-nonsense type of person._

"Well, we know how that can feel," Beth chimed in with a smile. She didn't want to be too involved in the conversation just yet because she didn't want to hijack Jane's opportunity to get to know her future sister-in-law with all business talk.

"So how long are you in town for, Caroline?" Jane asked.

"Oh, please! Call me Caro - everyone does. Well, don't hold me to it but, I think I'll be in town for the foreseeable future; I just signed a year lease on a townhouse, which is the longest I've even leased something for. So, hopefully, with your sister's help and guidance, I can hit the ground running with my studio here," she replied with a confident nod to Beth.

"Wonderful! Were you tired of Europe? I mean, Charles seemed to think that being in Europe really fueled your passion and inspiration; he was - pleasantly - surprised when you told him you were coming home."

"I do love Europe, but I went there for certain reasons that I've moved on from and I felt it was time to finally come back and begin my career here, where I always wanted it to be, and repair certain relationships that I'd destroyed," Caroline explained as she took a deep sip of her coffee.

Beth watched the interaction between the two yet she kept having this gnawing feeling inside that there was just something off about Charles' sister. Maybe it was because she'd been in PR for so long that she recognized when people were hiding something, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Caro's return than she was letting on. Granted, she'd basically just met Jane and her, so why would she share her personal struggles with basically two strangers? _Still._

They ordered mimosas and brunch and Beth continued to be a passive participant in the conversation, mostly observing, her curiosity listening for any clue as to what really brought her back here. While they ate, the conversation turned towards Jane and Charles and their upcoming wedding. Caro seemed genuinely interest in Jane's plans for the wedding, how her and Charles met and fell in love. Beth thought she glimpsed a look of longing mixed with jealousy in her eyes as she listened to Jane's responses, but she couldn't be sure. Her mental investigation was paused when Caro addressed her directly,

"So, Beth, I'm really excited for you to see the studio. I'm not sure if you've seen any of my work…" here she trailed off, waiting for confirmation or denial.

"Yes, thanks to Google, I was able to look at a couple of pieces that were popular and sold in Europe," Beth informed her, while Jane just gave a slight nod indicating that she too had seen or, more likely, heard from Charles the subject of his sister's pieces.

"Great! So you're familiar with my subject matter," she said wryly before holding her hands up to her mouth, mock-shielding her next comment, "I hesitate to just start talking about naked portraits here - the general public of the US is so sensitive!" She set her hands back down with a laugh.

"Yes, Europe is overall a little more laissez-faire on that subject," Beth agreed.

"Anyway, so I was thinking of giving the studio space a very rustic, 'naked,' if you will, vibe," Caro continued her original thought.

"I think that would work really well with the subject matter," Beth agreed. "For the opening, we could do some naked cake, berries, etc., and give it that naked and natural vibe."

"What a great idea!" Caro exclaimed, "I'm so glad I hired you."

The conversation turned back to Europe as Caro began recommending places for Jane's honeymoon. Soon enough they had finished eating, paid for their meal and were saying good-bye Jane, getting in a cab to take them to Caro's studio space.

"Ok, I want you to be completely honest with me if the theme is going to work for the space. I may be an artist but interior design is not my forte," Caro said as she unlocked the door to the studio.

As Beth stepped inside, Caro turned on the track lighting, illuminating the space.

"Well, the hardwood floor is going to work well. The exposed beams we can work into a rustic appearance. Overall, I think it's a great space, lots of room to work with and nothing that jumps out that wouldn't work with your vision."

"Oh good! So, I hope this is possible but, I'd like to have the opening in 3 weeks. I have thirty pieces ready which is about ninety-five percent of the exhibit and I'd like to get the ball rolling."

"Oh. Wow. Ok," Beth responded, sounding shocked. "I mean, that's not a problem on my end - a slight rush but nothing I haven't dealt with. I'm just surprised you have all of the pieces ready already."

"Yes, well a lot of them are older pieces that I've refused to sell until now; most from when I just moved to Europe and my first few months there," Caro explained.

"Oh, I see. What made you decide to sell them now?" Beth asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, they represent a part of my life that I've moved on from and don't want to hold on to anymore," a degree of regret clear in her voice.

"I see," Beth responded quietly, holding herself back from prying further as she walked around and pretended to examine the space further.

"Who am I kidding? You've seen my work," Caro began with a small laugh. "Most of my original pieces were of men that I was in relationship with, if you could even call them that."

"I see," Beth repeated herself, processing the information that Caroline had revealed. Thirty pieces meant thirty men. That was a lot of relationships in such a short amount of time.

"I see your brain working," she began with a knowing smile, "yes, it's a lot and yes, relationship probably wasn't the right word to use. I was young and they were my muses and they knew that. It took me awhile to learn that to capture someone so intimately didn't mean I had to intimately involve myself with them."

"Do they know you drew them?" Beth asked, curiously.

"Oh, of course. It was part of the process; they were _well_ aware," Caro answered. "What do you think I should title the exhibit though? Nothing I come up with seems to evoke the emotion that the pieces do."

Beth thought for a moment before turning to face her and say, "The Art of the Lovers."

Caro just stared at her for a moment, before she let loose that brilliant smile of hers, "That's amazing! Oh my God, I love it!" she exclaimed, hugging Beth out of gratitude. "Ok, so what do you need from me if this is going to happen in three weeks?"

"Any catering, or general, preferences you might have. Other than that, I would say about three photos of different pieces that I can release with the press so that guests will have an idea for the type of art; one of which will be for the official invite, and a list of any specific people you would like invited to the event - like certain family members or friends," Beth replied, quickly thinking through the event in her head to make sure she didn't need anything else from Caro at this point.

"Well, we may be on speaking terms now but I think inviting my family, aside from Charles, would be a bit of a stretch right now," she said with a wry laugh, "I can email you all that info tomorrow and any other questions I have."

"Great!" Beth exclaimed, checking her phone to see that it was almost four in the afternoon - _Darcy should be getting home within the hour._ She smiled mischievously to herself, deciding to welcome him home with a little surprise of her own.

"What's that smile for?" Caro asked perceptively. "I know my art is great and all but I don't think a gallery opening is putting that kind of anticipation on your face."

Beth's face flushed, caught in her dirty thoughts. "I, umm, just started seeing someone and he gets home from a business trip tonight…" she trailed off, wincing at her hesitant, lackluster explanation.

"Ahh, I see," Caro replied with a knowing eye. "Who is the lucky guy?"

"Ahh, well, it's kind of a secret for now. We _just_ started dating and with my luck, I don't want to jump the gun," Beth responded sheepishly.

"Ok, ok, I can respect that. Well, if it's less of a secret in three weeks, you are welcome to invite him to my opening - I'll make to include 'Beth's secret boyfriend' on the guest list," she teased with a wink.

Beth laughed as they headed for the door. As much as she was enjoying Caro's company, her mind - and her body - was eager to focus on someone else.

"Oh, Beth, before you jet off I just wanted to throw this idea out there since Jane isn't here," Caro interjected just as Beth was about to grab a cab, "I don't know if you've thought about this yet but I wanted to offer up the townhouse I'm renting for Jane's bridal shower. I thought it might be the least likely place for her to expect it at, unless you don't think she'll want it to be a surprise."

"I haven't actually thought about it but I probably should, huh?" Beth gave a short laugh, realizing that she would be the one responsible for the party. "I definitely want it to be a surprise for her though so that might actually work out really well. I would say tentatively yes, but I'll talk with my mom and sister and let you know for sure."

"Ok, great! Just thought I would offer - and anything else that you need or want help with for the party, let me know!" Another dazzling smile graced Caro's face to accompany her generous offer.

Beth thanked her again and hopped in a cab back to Darcy's. As they pulled away from the curb, Beth looked at Caroline and was taken aback, not just by how beautiful the woman was, but how there was something about her, something that was lurking just below the surface. Beth didn't think it had anything to do with her or Jane, it was definitely something private and personal - almost as though she had a specific purpose for being here; she was here for something, and it wasn't her brother's engagement or the opportunity to showcase her art. It was something deeper and darker but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Her curiosity vanished as the cab pulled up to the plaza and Beth speedily made her way to Darcy's apartment. _This time, she was taking control._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Just breath, Beth, just breath," she repeated over and over to herself.

She'd rushed home after her meeting with Caroline, praying that Darcy hadn't made it there before her; she had a plan and having him beat her home would spoil it. His flight had landed half and hour ago, which meant that he could walk through the door any minute.  
Throwing her briefcase into his study, she dashed into the bedroom, heading straight for her designated underwear drawer. This time when she opened it, she went for one of the new items that she'd passed over before. Quickly sifting through the rainbow-colored options, she pulled out an ice blue lace teddy. That will do perfectly.  
Beth quickly discarded her clothes and shimmied into the slip of lingerie, reaching around to hook the clasp as she turned to assess the result in the full-length mirror.  
Wow.  
The teddy had a plunging, lace-up front which made her relatively smaller breasts look more attractive; the clasped back had a large cut out and the high-rise style transitioned into a thong, accentuating her hips; the blue flattered her paler skin and highlighted her rich, brown hair. Boy, was he good at this - never in a million years would she have thought that this style of lingerie would look good on her, but it did. She tried not to think about how much practice he must have had doing this type of thing for God-only-knows how many other women since his last serious relationship.  
Don't go there, Beth. There's no time.  
Pulling away from the mirror, she hurried into the bathroom and quickly tousled her hair, returning to the bedroom and climbing onto the massive bed. Taking a deep breath, she was about to reach for her phone, realizing that it was no where to be seen, when she heard the door to the apartment open.

"Beth!"

She heard Darcy yell immediately. His voice seemed a little off though. Maybe from the stress of flying. She heard his luggage dropping on the floor, keys clashing onto the table.

"Beth!"

She heard him yell again as she heard his heavy footsteps stalking quickly around the apartment. Something was wrong. She heard it in his voice and it wasn't just stress. What could she have possibly done? Looks like her plan was not going to go according to plan. She quickly sat up and had one leg off the bed when the bedroom door slammed open, Darcy stalking inside.

"Fuck, Beth—," he began, stopping short as soon as he saw her.  
Her mouth parted and she gasped at the expression on his face; anger and fear exuded out of him. His appearance was wild - hair a mess, tie loosened around his neck, shirt partially undone. She was shocked, her mouth moving but no words came out. His mouth thinned, his eyes flamed with caged anger.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" he asked, the calmness in his voice only emphasized how close to the edge he was.

"What?" Beth replied; she couldn't think. She'd barely processed him, why was he asking about her phone?

"I called you. When I landed." He spoke in broken sentences, as if he could only control himself for those short moments. "Why didn't you answer?"

"What do you mean?" she stammered, "I don't know, I was in a meeting and then I rushed home because I wanted to be here when you got back; I wanted to surprise you. And I was running late and I was afraid that I wasn't going to make it and when I did then I wanted to change and put on something that you had bought me and…" She stopped only because she'd been talking so fast that she had run out of breath; she put her hand to her head, panting as she tried to sort through the jumble in her mind and continue.

"Fuck," he said hoarsely, taking a good look at her, and just realizing how she looked and what she was wearing. "Fuck fuck fuck," he said again harshly as he ran his hand roughly through his hair.

"What's wrong? I don't understand," she managed to plead, finally finding her legs to stand off the bed and take a hesitant step toward him.

"Don't," he said, putting up his hand as if to stop her. "What the fuck is wrong with me."

She saw the change in him, the anger had turned to shame and self-hatred; she'd seen the combination before - it was every time he tried to push her away because he felt that he didn't deserve her.

"Darcy, please," she implored, "it's ok; I'm ok. What happened? What's wrong? You can tell me." She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he would respond. His hand was rubbing his jaw, his head barely shaking back and forth. Beth saw that he was fading away from her so she reached out and grabbed the hand meant to stop her, "I'm sorry I didn't answer my phone."

He let out a harsh laugh and went to pull his hand away except she grabbed on tight and pulled him towards her, startling him as she placed his hand over her heart.

"Please, talk to me. I love you," she whispered almost imperceptibly, staring into his eyes.

"God, Beth," he groaned as he stepped to her, clasping her face with his other hand, his mouth finding hers.

She'd expected his kiss to be rough from anger or hunger or both except this time it was so tender. His tongue gently grazing over her lips, asking for access to her mouth, which she willingly gave. He wanted to take her, she could feel the passion, the hunger leashed behind his kiss, but at the same time, it was like he needed this kiss even more than he needed to fulfill his desire. Beth didn't know how long they kissed for, everything, including time seemed to stand still; neither his body nor his hands moved, all of his energy was focus on that kiss. She didn't know what was going on, but she poured her heart into the kiss, hoping that he could feel every ounce of love that she had for him, hoping that he could feel that she was there for him. When his lips finally left hers, they moved only a fraction of an inch away as he rested his forehead on hers.

"I thought you left," he said quietly, his voice thick with pain, "I thought you left me when you didn't answer."

Oh, God.

"And then I got home and you were no where and I didn't see any of your bags by the door. You didn't answer when I yelled." His voice trembled. "I thought you were gone."

How could she have been so stupid? He had told her that his previous girlfriend would just up and disappear on him and what had she done? Oh, just made it seem like she'd done the same thing. You didn't do it on purpose. Of course not. She'd been so focused on getting back before him that she hadn't checked her phone since meeting with Caroline. When she got home, she didn't want to leave a mess so she'd moved her things into the study, making it look like she wasn't there, and then when he did get home and called to her, she'd purposely ignored him because she'd wanted to surprise him. Of course none of it had been on purpose to concern him, except that he's been conditioned to expect the person that he cares about to leave him, with no warning, no notice, no care. She saw clearly how her actions could easily have given that impression and her heart broke; she'd never wanted to give him this kind of pain.  
His thumb brushed under her eye and that's when she realized that a tear had slipped free.

"I'm so sorry, Darcy," she said thickly, looking him in the eye, "I can't… I didn't mean…" God. There were no words to convey how sorry she felt for putting him through this torture. So, she decided on a different route. "I'm here," she said, reaching up slightly to briefly kiss his mouth, "I'm not going anywhere." She kissed him again. "I love you."

"God, Beth, don't apologize." Self-hatred re-infusing itself into his tone. "I'm the one who is fucked up. How could I even think that of you? What kind of person am I, to treat you like this?" With those self-loathing and rhetorical questions he began to pull away from her, disgusted with himself.

Beth quickly wound her arms around his neck, forcing her body flush with his. "You're a human being, who has been traumatized, but I'm here; I'm not going anywhere. Don't pull away from me; don't let this come between us. I didn't leave you. I won't leave you. So, don't leave me."

With that statement, she reached up and covered his mouth with hers. It took a moment - a moment for him to register what she had said, to register that she was giving him a chance to put her above his past, to change the outcome of the situation but when he did, it was like a switch was flipped and suddenly he was groaning into her mouth, his arms coming around to press her closer against him.

Thank God.

This kiss was much different from the last; the deep appreciation and desperation for her was clear. Their tongues danced, trying to deepen the kiss - if that was even possible. Beth moaned as she felt his erection against her stomach.

Take control, she heard the small voice inside her head say.

Her hands worked their way between them to finish unbuttoning his shirt and yank it down off his arms. Pulling her head back, she looked Darcy in the eye as she moved them backwards towards the bed. Holding his gaze, her palms came up to his chest as she pushed firmly and said softly, yet assertively,

"Lay down."

His eyes flared in a momentary thought of defiance; he was unused to being ordered around, especially in the bedroom. His mouth thinned as he stared at her, the instinct to take control fighting to be released. She stared right back, daring him to retaliate, yet knowing that he wouldn't - not this time, at least. A small smile spread across her face as she felt him give way beneath her hand, slowing sitting down onto the bed.

"As you wish," he muttered softly, his eyes never leaving hers, as he leaned back onto his elbows.

Beth let her instincts guide her as she climbed on top to straddle him. Reaching down, she grabbed his undershirt, pulling it from his pants, and slowly slid it up his body. He frowned when it got to the point where he was forced to lie back completely with his arms overhead in order for the shirt to come completely off. Beth purposefully took her time as she leaned her torso completely over him in order to pull the shirt off; her movements putting her breasts right at the level of his face. His tortured groan brought a smile to her face, knowing that his hands were still entangled in his shirt and unable to touch her, but that didn't stop him.  
Beth gasped as she felt the warmth of his mouth close greedily over her lace covered nipple, suckling her hard right through the fabric. Closing her eyes, she let the sensation of his mouth and the movement of the lace overwhelm her heightened senses. She moaned and felt his pause as he smiled against her breast; remember that she was the one who was supposed to be in control, she arched her back, pulling her nipple just out of reach. Leaving his hands still tangled in the undershirt, she slid back down his body until her face was level with his.

"It's my turn," she whispered just as she set her lips on his and kissed him with everything that she had.

Underneath her hips, she felt his erection hardening further, straining against the confines of his pants; pants that were probably soaking from her since the teddy didn't provide much of a barrier Running her hands down his arms and onto his chest, she broke off from his lips and began to plant small kisses down his neck and onto his chest. Looking up at him with a devious smile, Beth took one of his flat, hard nipples into her mouth and mimicked his earlier actions.

"Yours are nicer," he said huskily.

She bit down on the hard nub, satisfied with his sharp intake of breath. Taking her time, she moved to his other nipple, listening to how his breath quickened, held, and then released. Knowing that she was pleasuring him, torturing him, like he had done to her so many times only heightened her arousal.  
She moved quickly down his stomach, enjoying how it tensed with each kiss as Darcy tried not to move. Her legs slipped off the bed so that she could kneel between his legs. He groaned as her fingers grazed his erection in their attempt to undo and lower his pants and his sigh of relief was heavy when his pants were finally around his ankles, his penis free from its prison. Beth looked up to see that Darcy had raised his head slightly, his eyes questioning her, daring her, What are you going to do?  
Holding his gaze, wanting to see the effect she had on him, she lightly ran her finger from the base of his penis all the way to its head. Even though he didn't move a muscle, Beth saw his eyes darken with desire, wanting more. Licking her lips, she watched his face as she grabbed his erection in her hand, pumping her hand once, twice; now she saw his muscles tense all over, his jaw clenching as his breath came out in a hiss, as he watched her hand.  
She saw him start to shift to free his hands and knowing how quickly that would mean losing her advantage, grabbed his balls, effectively shifting his focus immediately back to her.

Biting her lip, she smiled lustfully and said, "I wonder how you taste."

She saw his eyes widen for a brief moment as her head moved down to pull the full length of his erection into her hot, wet mouth. The bed shook as his head slammed back onto the mattress as he let out a yell, his hips jerking up, pushing his penis even farther into her throat. She gave him just a moment to adjust to the onslaught of pleasure before she began to move her head, slowly taking him in and out of her mouth. His moans became uncontrollable when her tongue began to massage his shaft as she pulled her head up, ending with a swirl around the tip before she sucked him hard and then allowed her mouth to come back down and completely engulf him.  
She repeated the movements over and over, reveling in the sheen of sweat that had broken out over his skin; she knew he was trying to hold back his release but it was quickly overpowering him, his hips thrusting uncontrollably towards her mouth during its descent.

"Beth, please…" he begged, huskily between his sharp intakes of breath, "I can't…hold on…Want…to be…inside you."

No. She was in control and she wanted to be the one to make him lose it this time.  
She picked up her pace and reached her hand underneath to massage his testicles. He was panting hard now and Beth heard him begin to struggle with the shirt she had left tangled around his wrists.

"Fuck." She heard him mutter trying to free his hands and she knew that he was on the brink of orgasm.

Moving even faster, she took him in her mouth one…two…and on the third descent took him as deep as her throat would allow, and at that point attempted to swallow, her throat muscles closing around the head of his penis, shooting him over the edge.

"Beth!" He yelled as she felt the hot jet of his semen hit the back of her throat. He must have freed his hands because they tangled in her hair, firmly supporting her head as he pumped his erection into her mouth again and again, letting his orgasm drain completely out of him.

When he finally stilled, his hands relaxing in her hair, she slowly lifted her head, making sure she cleaned every last drop off his still very erect penis. Darcy had propped himself back up on his elbows and she caught his jet black eyes immediately, the intensity of his desire radiating out of them, freezing her movement. Holding her gaze, he sat up fully, his face inches from hers as a satisfied smile spread across his face.

"God, you are incredible," he began, his breathing labored, "how does it feel?"

"How does what feel?" she replied.

"Taking control. Making me lose control."  
"Incredible," she answered, breathlessly.

It was true, the sight of him helpless against his need, knowing that she was responsible; that she had the power to control his release, and that he had let her - for the most part; it felt incredible.

"Good," he said roughly, "because turn around is fair play."

Her eyes widened slightly at his dangerous tone just has his mouth took hers. His hands, firmly on her hips, pulled her towards him, forcing her knees onto the bed to straddle him, her core resting directly on his erection. The thin lace fabric did nothing to mask neither her nor his desire.  
As soon as she was sitting securely in his lap, his hand moved up to the ties on the front of the teddy, making quick work of the bow and loosening the material so that he could slide the sleeves off her shoulders, baring her breasts to him. His hands immediately grasped both swollen globes, testing and massaging their weight. She moaned softly into his mouth, her arousal still increasing, still on edge after knowing how much she had pleasured him.  
His teeth grabbed her lower lip, sucking and pulling on it gently as he pulled his head away from hers. He let her lip go, just as she cracked her eyes open to see his head bend down toward her breasts. Pushing one up to meet his mouth, he took her nipple between his teeth, just like he had with her lip, and gently tugged. She pressed forward, wanting, needing more. Finally he pulled the swollen nub into his mouth and sucked forcefully, her mouth falling open, gasping as pleasure rocketed through her right to her core. Her hands moved up to thread her finger through his hair, trying to push herself farther into his mouth. Meanwhile, her hips began to move with a mind of their own, rubbing her core against his rock-hard arousal, begging for release.  
With his mouth engaged at her breast, his hands moved down to grab her ass, one of them slipping under the lace teddy and down to her soaking core. Beth gasped again loudly as two of his fingers entered her. She was wound so tightly, she thought she could burst at any moment.

"Darcy…please…" she whispered between gasps.

He smiled against her breast as his fingers massaged the inside of her passage, his thumb flicking over her clit.

"Almost," he said as he bit down gently on her nipple.

Her vision darkened and she saw stars. Her hands moved to his shoulders to steady herself from the pleasure that was incapacitating her. Then, the onslaught stopped. His hands left her, his mouth pulled away; he leaned back on one elbow and Beth watch as his other hand reached in front of her to her core, and with the slightest movement, undid the snaps that held the bottom of the teddy together. Without further torment, he moved that arm back, resting on both elbows now and looked up at her with an arched brow.  
What's going on? She was sure that after making him come, he was going to jump at his chance to regain control of the situation, except now, he was looking at her like she was supposed to do something.  
Her dazed and confused stare must have been clear because he let out a small laugh.

"You wanted control, so take it," he said as his eyes darkened. "Take me."

Oh.

She bit her lip, the thrill and anticipation of being in control sending shivers down her spine. Reaching down, she grabbed his erection and pumped up and down several times, teasing him.  
Darcy let out a hiss of pleasure and she felt another surge of wetness between her thighs.

"Ride me, before I change my mind," he commanded, roughly.

Her eyes locked with his as she raised herself up on her knees, taking a moment to rub the head of his penis back and forth over her clit, sending sparks through her as she coated him with her wetness.

"Beth!" Her name was a warning; she was playing with fire.

Too late, she was already scorched.

Lining up the head of his erection with her entrance, she sat down slowly, taking him inside her inch by inch. She watched as his jaw muscles clenched, his eyes burned right through her; it was taking everything in him to not thrust up completely inside of her and quicken the pace.  
Beth's eyes closed as she finally took his whole length inside of her. Sitting fully on him, she took a moment to allow her inner muscles to adjust to the size of him; she moaned, feeling the head of his erection pressing on the base of her cervix.  
An explosion of pleasure rocketed through her, her hips jerking involuntarily, her eyes opening instantly to see that Darcy had reached forward and massaged her clit, bringing her right to the edge of orgasm.

"Ride me," his thick, deep voice said. He'd tried to make it sound like a command, but Beth could tell he was begging her for release.

There was no way she was able to go slow now, not after that. Her legs moved with a mind of their own, raising and lowering her hips, pulling off of him right to the tip and then sinking back down. Beth's hands had fallen to his chest to steady her movements. Her rhythm became more frenzied as her orgasm built, and Darcy was no different. His hips had begun to move in sync with hers, pushing up to meet her as she came down, pushing himself as far as he could go, hitting that sensitive spot deep inside her again and again. His one hand reached up between them to cup her breast, the other reached down to where they were joined, delving between her folds to the sensitive, swollen nub hidden within.

"Come now, Beth," he groaned hoarsely, as his fingers found their target and rolled her clit between them.

She screamed his name, her hips jerking against him and her vision going black as her orgasm engulfed her. Distantly, she heard him shout her name in response, feeling the warm jet of liquid rushing inside her as her body contracted over and over.  
When she finally came back down to Earth, Beth realized that at some point she had collapsed on Darcy's chest, his arms around her, their heavy breathing in sync with each other, their heartbeats slowly returning to a steady pace. Beth tilted her head to look up at Darcy; his eyes were closed, his face completely relaxed - it was a rare sight for him.

"I must be crushing you," Beth said softly as she made an effort to move off of his chest.

"Don't," he responded, his arms clamping down around her, "just stay another minute."

I'd stay here all day if you asked.

Beth relaxed back down onto his chest, her eyes closing as she listened to his heart beat against her ear, feeling completely satisfied - and not just physically. This situation could have gone so many ways. Several scenarios had flown through her mind when that door had slammed open and revealed a Darcy she hadn't seen before; most - all - of them had ended up with a fight followed by one of the two of them leaving. She couldn't have imagined this. It wasn't perfect, but boy was it a step in the right direction.  
They laid there in silence, savoring those next few minutes. Just when Beth felt herself begin to doze off, Darcy began to gently move her off of him, dropping a kiss on her forehead as he got up and walked to the bathroom. She wanted to go too, but her limbs felt so heavy and exhausted. She heard Darcy turn the water on and the bathtub begin to fill. He walked back into the bedroom with a smug smile on his face.

"Is being in control too exhausting for you, Miss Bennet?" he lightly teased, approaching the bed.

"Absolutely not," she responded tartly, finding - or faking - the strength to start to sit up.

"I'm just kidding, gorgeous, just relax; I'll take care of you," he said softly as he put his arms underneath her and picked her up, carrying her into the bathroom and gently depositing her in the hot bath.

God, this feels incredible.

Her eyes opened heavily as she watching him add some soap into the water, swirling it over and around her. She was entranced by his careful and concentrated expression, as though her comfort were the most pressing thing in the world right now. The thoughts of his face, just a little while ago, broken and confused sent a shiver through her body.

"Are you warm enough? I can turn the water hotter," he asked, concern shimmering in his eyes.

"I'm fine," she said with a smile, "are you ok?"

"I'm fine," he said, his face shuttered to hide his emotions.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you," she began as she reached her hand out, turning his face to hers so that she could look him in the eye, "I would never do that do you."

"I know, Beth," he said exasperatedly, looking down at his hands as he wiped the soap suds off of them, "it's my fault. I should have known."

She could tell he was beating himself up for jumping to the conclusion that she would leave him with no warning.

"How did it feel? To give up control to me?" she asked with a small, devilish smile, trying to lighten the mood. She knew there was nothing she could say to make him stop blaming himself for his poor assumptions.

He looked at her, his eyes darkening at the thought of what they had just done. He shifted slightly next to the tub, and Beth had a feeling that certain part of him were enjoying the memory more than others.

"I think you know it felt damn good," he said with a smirk, "feeling isn't the problem; it's the habit of thinking that it's wrong that's the problem."

"Well, looks like we will just have to do it more often so that your brain gets used to losing control to me," she said with a laugh.

"I always lose control to you, baby, whether I show it or not," he answered softly before standing up from the tub and walking over to the sink to rinse off his hands.

Her face flushed, even though he was no longer looking at her, and her body warmed at his softly, sweet words. She watched his face in the vanity mirror, saw the emotions he was feeling - guilt, desire, embarrassment, love - play over his face, until his calm mask finally fell back into place.  
Mask. Masquerade. Shit.

"What's wrong?" Darcy asked.

He must have heard her sharp intake of breath. Now that he was staring at her with those intensely dark eyes, her face really flushed.

"I wanted to talk to you about this weekend," she began slowly, "my client's masquerade party."

"Do you not want me to go with you?" he interjected swiftly, fear that she no longer wanted him evident in his tone.

Why does this man constantly think I'm trying to get rid of him?

"No," she said reassuringly, "it's just that Renée invited more people than usual, I guess because of the success of the movie, so it's going to be a much bigger event than I originally thought and conveyed to you; but no, I do still want you to go with me, if you are ok with that."

"Absolutely, I still want to go," he responded without any hesitation this time. "I'm going to go order us some Chinese food, if that's ok with you."

"Sounds great, just come get me when it's here," she replied with a grin, sinking lower into the hot, sudsy water.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Beth sat at her desk, reviewing the details for the night over and over again, making sure she hadn't missed anything. She was usually pretty OCD about the events that she was working, even though she'd been coordinating Renée's birthday party for years now, but this time it was different and not just because of it being combined with the film's after-party celebration; this time she had a date.

 _This time she had Darcy._

There were a lot of firsts going to happen tonight. The first time she would bring a significant other to an event. The first time her and Darcy would be _together_ in public, even if they were keeping the relationship private for the time being. The first time he would see her working. _Lots of firsts._ And who was she kidding? She was getting anxious just thinking about it, she couldn't leave anything to chance, and that's why she was even more fanatical this morning making sure everything for the party was in order: guest list, press passes, caterer, DJ, photographer. She'd checked in with everyone.

She looked at the time again, about an hour left before she had to head out and grab lunch on the way to the venue. She liked to stop in the day of the event to make sure the decorations and set-up was going smoothly. Then, it would be time to head home and get ready. _Ugh._ Another thing she was worried about - her dress. It had arrived yesterday, on time, but with everything that had happened, from brunch to the gallery space viewing, topped off with what had happened when she had gotten back to the apartment, she hadn't had a chance to try the dress on, which meant she was praying that it fit because she had zero time to find something else to wear. God, she hoped it would look really good.

Over dinner last night, she'd talked to Darcy about her schedule for the day, trying to gently probe how he wanted to handle it - if he just wanted to meet her at the event so that there were no questions about why they arrived together, etc. He'd said he had a lot of meetings and things to catch up on, since traveling to Chicago had been unplanned and taken time out of his week, but just when she thought that he implying that he would just meet her there, he said that he would make sure he was done in time to escort her.

She felt butterflies again, remembering how giddy it had made her feel. She told him that even though the event started at eight, she'd like to be there by seven to make sure everything was on track, plus the press usually liked to show up early to get a prime shooting location and first interviews.

"Beth?"

She looked up from her computer to see Phil peeking his head in through her door; she must not have heard his knock.

"Hey, Phil. What's up?"

"Just wanted to check in and see how everything is going. I know you have an event tonight so I won't keep you long."

"Oh, no. It's fine; I'm all set for that," she reassured him, feeling guilty about her recent lackluster focus, "Everything is going really well. I just met with Caroline yesterday actually. It was a pretty crazy day, I didn't get a chance to touch base with you."

"Not a problem. How did everything go?"

"Really well, I think. She actually took me over to see her gallery space and we went over a couple of ideas for decor and presentation," she began, focusing back on that conversation so she could relay what else had transpired. "Caro actually wants to do the opening in two weeks."

"Wow! That's soon. Is she going to have all the pieces by then? I mean, I would have to assume so," Phil responded, shocked at the timeline.

"That's what I was thinking, but it turns out that she has all the pieces completed already. She said that they are actually many of her original works that she has been holding on to and is now ready to party with, so she's all ready to go."

"Wonderful! So, what's the next step?"

"Guest list. She's getting me names and I'm going to send her over some suggestions of people who I think might be interested. Monday I'm going to start contacting vendors based on the design elements we discussed and get some pricing squared away and go from there."

"Great," Phil said with a smile and nod of his head. "Well, I'll let you get back to it, I know you have a busy night ahead."

"Thanks," she said as he left her office.

She didn't like feeling as though Phil felt he had to check up on her, but she knew it was only with the best intentions that he did. She was actually glad that he had stopped by because she had completely forgotten to update him on Caroline's showing. While her mind was still focused on that, she opened up her master vendor list and selected a few of the names, putting them in her task list for Monday to contact. To close out her thoughts on the gallery for the weekend, she opened a new email to Caro.

 _Caro,_

 _It was great meeting you yesterday. Thanks for taking the time to show me around your studio. I love you ideas for the space and I'm confident that we can create a memorable exhibition for you. I'll be contacting some vendors Monday morning to get some pricing together and I've attached a list of some contacts that we have that would be very interested in your work. If you're OK with them, I will add their names to the guest list._

 _On a separate note, I've thought about your offer and I think that having Jane's bridal shower at your house might work out best if we are going to keep it a surprise. If that still works for you, I'll figure out Jane's schedule and talk with my mom to set a date. I know she's eager to move things along but I don't want to do it before your show - I think that would be too unfair to you but maybe the week or so afterward. Just a thought…_

 _Ok, thanks again. Let me know if you have any questions or ideas. I have a big event tonight so I probably won't be responsive until sometime tomorrow. Chat soon,_

 _Beth_

Hitting the 'send' button, Beth looked up at the clock on her computer and realized that it was time for her to head out. Eager for the day to keep moving, she quickly printed her cheat sheet of noted for the evening's event and packed up her computer.

Hopping in a cab, her phone buzzed with an email just as they pulled away from the curb; it was Caro.

 _Beth,_

 _Thanks for following up! Yes, please, add anyone to the list you think is fit. I'll send you my guest list by the end of the weekend._

 _I would love to host Jane's shower, if that would work best for you. Just let me know when and if there is anything else I can do to help - Jane is a doll._

 _We'll chat next week! See you tonight - ciao!_

 _Caro_

 _See her tonight? What did she mean?_ Beth wondered as the cab navigated the busy streets of the city. _Did she know Renée?_ Beth hadn't even looked over the updated and expanded guest list since Renée's assistant had been on top of sending that to her for the past several years; plus, she'd never wondered who was going to be attending before. _Well, it would be nice to see someone she actually knew there._ Even though Jane knew about her and Darcy, and she was sure that Charles did too, Beth wasn't sure how comfortable she was with Caro or anyone else knowing about their relationship yet; there was still too much at stake.

Her thoughts were derailed as the cab came to an abrupt stop in front of the Ritz Central Park - the venue for tonight's event. She would have enough on her mind trying to successfully navigate a public event with Darcy tonight, on top of the fact that she would actually be working too, she didn't have time or brain power to worry about other people right now. Hitting the elevator button for the mezzanine level, Beth pulled her event folder from her bag and pulled out the pre-event checklist she'd made up.

Exiting the elevator, she was treated to large floral displays accented with purple balloons at the entrance to the Emery Roth Room, the largest event space in the hotel. She should have known this gathering was going to bigger than the last when Renée requested both Salons instead of just Salon I like she usually did. _God, had she really been that spacey lately?_ Her head shook subconsciously at herself as she looked down at her list to begin her preliminary exam.

Purple and white entrance hydrangeas - _Check_.

Dark purple and silver balloons - _Check_.

Congratulations banner - _Not up yet_.

Beth made her way into the venue space looking for Nancy, the event coordinator at the Ritz who would be overseeing the set-up. She spotted the older woman in the smaller, Salon 2 talking to a small group that appeared to be the bar and wait staff.

"Nancy," Beth exclaimed as she walked up to the group, "Sorry for interrupting you. Could I borrow you for just a minute to go over a few things?" She apologetically asked as Nancy turned around to see who was addressing her.

"Oh, Beth! Of course," she said with a smile, "John, David, could you each make me one of the signature cocktails while you wait? Liz, can you go check downstairs and make sure the food is running on schedule?"

The small crowd quickly dispersed to perform their tasks while Nancy gave Beth her full attention.

"I'm sorry; I just wanted to stop by and see how things were going," Beth said with a sheepish smile.

"Of course, of course. Although, I do have to say I think everything is pretty much on track here."

"Great, I just have a few questions," Beth began, "I didn't see the 'Happy Birthday' banner on the way in…"

"Oh yes, I just sent Maria downstairs to my office to get it. You sent it to me earlier this week and it just didn't make it up here with the rest of the decor, but it should be up in the next few minutes. As a matter of fact…" she trailed off, looking over Beth's shoulder to the commotion at the entrance to the room, "I believe her and Jimmy are hanging it as we speak."

Beth followed her gaze, confirming what the woman had said. She felt bad questioning Nancy because they had worked together many times before, but she was starting to second guess herself after everything that had happened and if she was honest, the real reason she was here was to check up on herself and make sure _she_ hadn't forgotten a crucial detail for the night.

"Wonderful," Beth said with a smile, "would you mind just walking me through the evening one more time now that I'm here and then I'll get out of your hair."

"Of course, of course," Nancy replied cheerfully.

Beth had to give the woman credit, she seemed as cool as a cucumber and as if she had all the time in the world to indulge Beth's compulsiveness.

"Let's taste these cocktails while we walk," Nancy suggested as she went to the bar behind them to pick up the two cocktails that the bartenders had just finished making - Renée's Rum Runner.

Handing one to Beth, she held hers up in salute; Beth tapped her glass and took a sip of the drink. She wasn't the biggest fan of rum but this was pretty good and was definitely strong enough to put her on the floor if she wasn't careful. She continues to sip the cocktail as she walked with Nancy who began to review the layout of the party. The two bars, one at each end of each Salon, were up and stocked.

The center space was mostly open, with a table on one side for guests to place gifts and sign a collective guestbook, the far end of the room home to the movie poster for "Bridget Jones' Baby," for guests to take photos with; it was kept in the back because Renée wanted this to be more focused on her birthday celebration rather than the movie's success, which was just an added excuse for the celebration. Beth glanced around the room quickly - _there should be one more table in here._ Beth had suggested to Renée that they put out a table with masks on for guests who forgot theirs but she didn't see where that table was set up.

"The mask table is right around the corner," Nancy said, as if she knew what Beth was looking for, "I just moved in inside while they were decorating the entrance because the masks kept getting knocked onto the floor."

"Good thinking," Beth murmured, breathing deeply as she was feeling more confident by the moment that she hadn't forgotten anything.

They quickly moved into the far Salon, and so far everything seemed to be in order and on schedule. The florist had finished all of the floral installation. The cocktail tables were set with the simple candle centerpiece, setting the mood with the dark wood interior of the space. Hors d'oeuvres would be served at eight-thirty, allowing guests to arrive and grab a drink before being inundated with the twelve different food choices that Renée had requested. The cake table was ready and waiting - cake would be served at ten. Nancy pulled up the event playlist on her phone that would be playing throughout all the rooms over the speaker system and Beth confirmed that everything looked like it was in order. Breathing a sigh of relief, Beth thanked Nancy for her patience and time and left the woman to finish her work.

Handing her now empty glass to the one bartender, Beth walked out of the room, noticing the staff had moved the mask table right inside the entrance now that the birthday banner had been hung. Now, it was time to head back to Darcy's where the real work would begin.

She still thought it ridiculous that her whole body warmed at the thought of seeing him tonight. Even though she knew he wasn't at the apartment yet, her heart still picked up the pace as the cab pulled up to the Plaza and she haphazardly gathered all her bags and made her way up to the penthouse.

 _Just breathe, Beth. There's nothing to worry about; everything is under control for tonight._

 _You can handle Darcy._

The phrases repeated loudly, over and over in her head as she closed the door into the perfectly silent apartment. Setting her purse on the entry table, she took her laptop bag and the Rent-the-Runway box into the bedroom with her. It wasn't unusual for her to feel anxious before an event; she was OCD about her job and always had lingering concerns, in spite of her many lists, that she had forgotten something. Beth tried to tell herself all week that this time was no different, but it was; she hadn't been herself at work lately and it reflected in her performance. Tonight, was her first event since Phil had come to talk to her and she wanted to show him as much as herself that she hadn't lost anything by agreeing to try this relationship with Darcy. She finally admitted to herself that on top of that work stress, the anxiety of being with Darcy in public, as a couple, was a giant unknown for her and she really didn't do well with the unknown, it tormented her need to be in control of the situation - which, of course, only added to her anxiety.

Pulling her laptop out, she opened it and set it on the bed, pulling up a new browser window and typing in Pandora. _Music can fix anything._ Ok, maybe it wouldn't fix her anxiety but it would help to divert her focus onto the task at hand which was making herself look presentable. She clicked on 'Taylor Swift Radio' and turned the volume up, letting "Shake It Off" play enthusiastically from the speakers.

Turning her attention to the package containing her dress for the evening, she unzipped the garment bag.

 _Moment of truth._

Pulling out the dress from the plastic, she held the hanger up in front of her inspecting her choice and then up against her assessing the length. Even though it wasn't on, Beth knew the dress was going to look incredible. Laying it gently on the bed, she went into the bathroom to start her hair and make-up, wishing Jane was here to help her.

She pulled out her curling iron, but decided against the added frustration of trying to get her hair to cooperate in loose curls tonight. Thinking about it further, the high neck of the dress seemed to cater better to her hair being pulled up rather than being let down. Grabbing her phone, she opened up Pinterest and search for 'formal upstyle hair.' Scrolling down the results, she skimmed over a majority of pins that were just too intricate and way beyond her skill level. Glancing at the time, she saw that it was almost five o'clock.

 _Two hours. Shit._

Taking another deep breath, she kept scrolling, stopping as a simple, high, sock-bun caught her eye.

 _Seems simple enough…_

Tapping on the pin, Beth read through the instructions on the website, deciding that it seemed like something she could handle. Grabbing an older sock from her drawer, she cut off the toe portion and loosely rolled it up into a donut shape. Brushing her hair, she flipped her head over and brushed her hair smoothly into a ponytail sitting high on her head. Checking in the mirror to make sure there were no bumps or any missing pieces of hair, she pulled her ponytail through her sock donut and smoothed the hair down over all sides. Quickly securing it with another hair tie, she made sure none of the sock was showing through before tucking the ends of her hair underneath the bun with a few bobby pins. Using her phone, she examined her work from all angles, making sure that it looked good.

 _Never quite as good as on Pinterest, but close enough._

Switching gears, she grabbed her travel makeup bag from in the closet and googled a simple smokey-eye tutorial. Following the YouTube directions, Beth quickly did her makeup, humming along to the LoCash song playing on her computer. She took a quick selfie and texted it to Jane, asking her if she looked ok.

 _You look great, Beth! Can't wait to see it with your dress._

Jane's response made her smile. She knew Jane wouldn't tell her if it looked bad, unless it _really_ looked bad.

 _Thanks, still wish you were here to help me._

 _I would have come over, or you could have stopped here. You did a great job though, you don't need me!_

 _Thanks, sis. I'll send you a pic of my dress later._

 _Ok! Good luck! Have a good night!_

 _Actually, did you know that Caro is going to be at my event tonight?_

 _Oh, no. I didn't know she knew Renée._

 _Me neither. She emailed me earlier and said that she would see me later. I was surprised she didn't say something earlier._

 _Yeah, that is interesting. Maybe she just got the invite or just decided that she could make it._

 _Yeah, maybe. Ok, gotta run - talk to you later!_

It was five-twenty and still no sign of Darcy. She knew that he was going to be working late but some part of her had hoped that he would be back a little bit before they had to leave. As if he knew that her thoughts had drifted to him again, her phone buzzed with a new message from 'Mr. Intolerable,' ironically just as Luke Bryan's "Hard to Love" came on Pandora.

 _Isn't that the truth,_ Beth thought to herself as she slid open the message. She also should probably change his name in her phone but she just couldn't help that the nickname had turned from one of hostility into an endearment.

 _Running late. Sorry. See you soon, gorgeous._

Concise and to the point, she wouldn't expect anything different. His endearment though, awoke the butterflies in her stomach.

 _She couldn't wait to see him._

Tossing her phone onto the bed, she pulled the dress off the hanger and slipped into it, careful not to catch her hair or smudge her make-up. After struggling for a minute to zip up the back of the dress on her own, she turned away from the bedroom door to face the full length mirror on the closet door.

 _Holy shit._

She looked good, if she did say so herself. The deep navy of the dress highlighted her pale skin; the sections of lace on the front and sides of the dress were accentuated as her skin almost glowed through the intricate pattern. Her hairstyle was a perfect complement to the design of the dress - simple and elegant. She looked professional, elegant, and yet subtly sexy. Her mind wandered off into thoughts of what the night would hold as she stared blankly into the mirror. Warm electricity began to run up her spine and she blinked a few times to bring the image of herself in the mirror back into focus; except this time, she wasn't the only one reflecting back in the glass.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 _Darcy._

She hadn't even heard him come in. Her breathing was shallow as their eyes remained locked within the mirror. She felt frozen in his molten stare and even though it was only his reflection that she was looking at, she could clearly see the fire burning in his eyes. Then again, she knew that hers were glowing with just as much desire on seeing him.

He must have gotten ready at his office because he was fully dressed in a jet black, fitted tux; his hair was perfect, _hell, he was perfect._ He looked like he had walked right out of a GQ cover, emanating power and desire. She licked her lips and saw his jaw clench at her minute movement. Her momentary paralysis broken, she turned slowly to face the most gorgeous man she had ever seen.

His eyes caught hers again.

"God, Beth, you are gorgeous," the compliment escaped hoarsely from his lips as he strode purposefully toward her.

"Darcy," she replied on a whisper just before his lips came crashing down on hers.

Pulling her tightly against him, he drank deeply from her mouth, as though he had been starved all day and she was his only form of sustenance. Beth let herself get lost in his kiss, her tongue toying with his, moaning as he playfully bit and sucked on the soft fullness of her lower lip. Thankfully, or regretfully, she was getting better at controlling her desire to lose herself in him; when she felt the familiar warmth start to trickle between her thighs, she pulled her mouth back, gently pushing against his chest.

"Darcy," she said, her voice thick with desire, "we have to go. I can't be late for the event."

"Fuck the event." His response came out harshly, but she knew the outburst was from pent-up desire and not anger. _And she couldn't blame him._

" _Later."_ It was both a plea and a promise that she uttered the word as she reached up and placed the lightest kiss on his lips; the sweetest seal to her promise that more would follow.

His arms clamped like a vise around her as she tried to step back and out of his embrace. Her gaze shot questioningly to his, immediately fearing the worst.

 _Is he not going to let me go? Is he going to keep me here, tie me down, prevent me from going to my event, from doing my job?_

As soon as the thoughts finished flying through her mind, her mouth began to open - whether to plead with him or berate him, she wasn't quite sure. It looked like she would never know because in that instant, she felt his arms relax from around her, his fingers trailing lightly up her bare arms, sending goosebumps all over her body. His hands came to rest gently on either side of her face, tilting it up to meet his as his mouth came within an inch of hers.

 _"_ _I'm holding you to that, Princess."_

His tantalizing threat sent hot lightening right down to her core. Her eyelids dropped heavily, her breathing faltered, as she anticipated one last kiss to emphasize his warning. Suddenly, he was gone - walking out of the bedroom.

"I'm ready whenever you are," he said with a devious smile on his face.

 _Wait, what? Where is the kiss?_

She stood for a moment, processing what had just happened. Sure, she'd pulled away first because they did have to go, but she'd craved one last kiss to hold her over until later and he'd teased her with it and then left her hanging. _Ok, maybe she had done the same to him._ No, not maybe - she was sure, judging from her quick glimpse of the front of his pants, he was in the same tormented state of unfulfilled arousal as she was. For one second, if she was honest, she contemplated following through with her promise right now and saying _'screw it'_ to her job and the event, but that second passed swiftly.

Beth turned back to face the mirror, smoothing her dress and making sure she still looked presentable. She reapplied her lipstick and threw the tube into her purse.

 _Ready._

With a steadying breath, a contrast to the erratic beat of her heart and nerves, she turned and walked out of the bedroom.

She stopped short again in the hall when her eyes caught him reading something on his phone by the door, waiting for her.

 _It should be a crime to be that good looking._

She kept moving as he looked up from his phone, jaw clenching and eyes darkening again at the sight of her. At this rate, they would set the hotel on fire with the desire that burned, unquenched between them.

"I'm ready."

"Almost…"

 _What did he mean, almost?_

Beth watched as he reached in his pant's pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. He opened the lid to reveal a pair of teardrop diamond earrings that had to be at least one carat each. Her breath caught at the beauty, _and expense,_ of his gift.

"They are why I ran late. I hope you like them," Darcy explained gruffly.

"They are beautiful," Beth said softly. "Thank you." She reached up and pulled his face to hers, their mouths instantly melding into one another.

She heard his deep groan as she pulled away, slowly opening her eyes into his intensely dark gaze.

"You are beautiful," he said, his eyes boring into hers, his voice firm and sincere, and she felt the depth of how truly he believed that.

A soft blush spread to her cheeks at his words as she pulled the earrings out of their pillow and put them on using the hall mirror. They were stunning. Shimmering in the light, they added the perfect final touch to her outfit. Beth hadn't even thought about jewelry, she'd been too concerned about making sure her hair and makeup were ok, and Darcy managed to find in the one thing to complete her look. She was rarely super confident in her appearance, but tonight was one of those unique times where she felt beautiful, where she felt like she looked like she could belong with someone like Darcy. _Seriously, Beth? What a terrible thought to have about yourself._ She pushed her inner self-critical thoughts aside and gave Darcy a brilliant smile.

"Exquisite."

It also helped that he kept telling her how beautiful she was. _And showing her._

He opened the apartment door and followed her to the elevator and out into the night.

Darcy watched Beth's face glow with pride as they arrived at the party. Even though no other guests had arrived yet, the staff had everything set up and ready to go just as Beth had instructed. He followed her around, watching closely as she made her rounds through each of the rooms, inspecting the setup, decor, bar selections, while she politely questioned servers and bartenders on the timeline and execution of the evening.

After a few minutes, they ran into Nancy who had been down in the kitchen, Beth left Darcy and the older woman talking to check on the guest photo area and make sure the masks were laid out. She was in work mode now and the anxious excitement that always filled her right before the start of an event had her senses on high alert. In spite of everything that was running through her mind, she couldn't help as her focus and gaze kept darting back to her sinfully handsome date, still chatting cordially with Nancy, although from the way that they kept looking over at her, it seemed like she was the topic of their entertaining conversation. Darcy's eyes caught hers and her face flushed before she quickly turned to continue her preparations.

 _Ten minutes until showtime._

Beth stopped to take stock of everything and make sure there was nothing else she needed to do. Her three-hundred-sixty degree turn was halted as she spun right to face a smiling Darcy, his hand extended to deliver one of the night's signature cocktails.

"Thank you," she said, taking the drink from him and taking a sip.

"You're forgetting one thing," he replied.

Even though his tone was teasing, her heart skipped a beat at the thought that she had missed something that he had caught. Her concerned and questioning expression elicited a small chuckle from her date as he reached into his pocket.

Pulling out her navy, lace mask he let it unravel, holding it by only one of the ties.

"Of course, how could I forget," Beth said with a smile. _That wasn't a big deal._

As she reached to take the mask from him, he pulled it back with a 'tsk'. His hand gently touched her waist to turn her around and she felt the sparks of desire at his contact.

She closed her eyes as he gently placed the mask over her face and began to securely fasten the ties on the back of her head. When he had finished, his hands ran slowly down both sides of her neck, lightly tracing her shoulders, skimming down her arms until coming to rest securely on her hips. Beth let out a small gasp, her eyes opening, as he pulled her hips back firmly against his where she could feel the still-hard evidence of his desire.

" _All set,"_ he whispered in her ear, her body on fire from his proximity.

"Thank you," she responded breathlessly. "I can't believe I almost forgot to wear it." She tried injecting some small humor to dull the intense desire coursing through her.

"Don't worry, it will be the only thing you will be wearing later."

Her mouth parted slightly on her sudden inhale of breath at his pleasurable promise. Even though he stepped back from her at that moment, she felt the moist warmth between her thighs and knew that the carnal thoughts invading her mind had left her underwear no chance of surviving the night unscathed. Watching him tie on his own mask, she crossed her legs and took another, larger sip of her drink, trying to dull the ache that was throbbing at her core.

 _Oh, he was cruel._

 _God, how she loved it._

She was about to turn around and give Mr. Intolerably-desirable a dose of his own medicine when Renée walked in and immediately Professional Beth kicked into high gear as she went to greet her client.

Time began to pick up the pace as she caught up with Renée, quickly showing her around the space and what she had done. It wasn't long before more guests were rolling in. Thankfully, Beth wasn't on the greeting committee for this party, as she was with some. She stuck lightly to Renée's side as her guests would stop to give their birthday wishes and congratulations on the film; since all the guests, so far, had arrived with their masks in place, it was the best way to be introduced to the most amount of people - to associate a name with a mask, and to filter out prospective clients for Gardiner.

Darcy had faded into the background as soon as Renée had arrived, given Beth the space and focus to do her job well. Beth had no qualms about letting Darcy fend for himself; he dealt with this category of people regularly and didn't need a babysitter. She could, however, tell every time he searched her out in the growing crowd as heat suffused down her spine. She knew each time he passed by her on his way to the bar, because he would trail a finger along her lower back. One time, he stopped and whispered in her ear, _'You're incredible,'_ and then _'You're so fucking hot.'_ After the first half hour, she needed a respite - she needed something to calm her and hold her over until later.

 _Well, two somethings: a drink and a Darcy._

Excusing herself from the small group congregated around Renée, she turned around to stop at the bar first because that was closest. She'd lost Darcy momentarily in the crush. Politely requesting another of Renée's Rum Runners, she began to scan the crowd for the second part of her remedy.

"Looking for someone special?"

Beth started for a second at the voice, her head turning to the right to acknowledge the speaker, momentarily baffled by who was addressing her underneath their mask.

"Caroline, how good to see you!" Beth exclaimed, although she almost felt like she had to fake her excitement and she couldn't figure out why. _Probably the stress of the event getting to her._

"You look fabulous," Caro replied, "I wasn't sure that I'd see you here. I only just realized that you were responsible for this event recently, otherwise I would have mentioned it sooner."

 _Ahh, I see._

"Thank you. You look gorgeous as always," Beth returned her compliment only after which she took a moment to take in Caro's full appearance - long blond hair pulled back into a high ponytail, her dress was sleeveless with a high neck, very conservative on initial inspection until Caro shifted her weight and the high thigh slit became visible. Just like Anne, Charles' sister could have been a model if she had wanted. Wanting to quickly put an end to the pregnant pause, Beth continued, "Yes, yes, this is all me. I've been working with Renée for the past few years. How do you know her?"

 _Curiosity killed the cat,_ her mind chided her for her succumbing to her nagging curiosity.

"Renée and I go way back, before I moved to Italy. She was actually going to sponsor my work before I moved but, well, life happens. I contacted her the other day, now that I'm back in the States, to tell her about my upcoming exhibit and I mentioned that you were helping me. Of course, she loves you and just had wonderful things to say but, she brought up her party this weekend and extended an invitation to me and now, I'm here," Caro explained with a warm smile.

Beth believed her, she truly did, but there was just _something,_ something that wasn't being said. She just couldn't put her finger on it, but then again, maybe that was the alcohol talking.

"So who are you searching for?" Caro asked again.

 _Looks like she wasn't the only one with a nagging curiosity._

"Well, I brought a date this year, whom I've unfortunately had to ignore for the past hour or so. I'm starting to think he may have left me here," Beth joked lightly.

"I'm sure no gentleman would do such a thing to you. Who is he? Maybe I've passed him in my travels over to see you."

The question seemed so simple, her reason, so sincere, yet Beth's immediate gut reaction was to lie. She couldn't explain why.

 _Something just felt wrong._

"Well, he has a mask on too, so I doubt you would be able to tell even if you did know him. At this rate, I'm starting to wonder if I could find him with his mask on!" _Wow, good job on that one, Beth._ "Oh, shoot, I have to go check with Renée on what tine she wants to cut her cake, if you'll excuse me."

"Of course," Caro replied with a smile - one that didn't seem to extend quite all the way to her eyes.

Beth picked her glass up off the bar and took a deep sip as she walked back to the small group encircling Renée. She didn't really need to check with Renée, but she felt uncomfortable being prodded by Caro about Darcy - mostly because she hadn't even thought to come up with any answers to explain him. Beth positioned herself so that she had a side-view of where she had been just talking to Caro, but Caro was no where to be seen. Maybe it was the alcohol, but she'd had a funny vibe talking to Caro that entire time. Even more unnerving was that she still didn't see Darcy; _Maybe he did leave. No, he wouldn't do that._

With Caro nowhere in sight and hopefully, not watching her movements, Beth turned to leave the group again and make her way into the far room, the smallest of the three; it was the last place that he could be. Just as she made it to the doorway, her path was blocked by a navy, satin tux paired with a devastating smile.

"Beth! You weren't going to just walk right by me were you. I thought we were closer than that!" The man behind the teasing smile was none other than Renée's costar and friend, Patrick Dempsey.

"Patrick! No, of course not. You know me though, always on a mission. I'm glad to see you could make it again this year - the crowd is a bit bigger than normal," Beth responded warmly as they embraced in a friendly hug.

 _Darcy._ She could feel that he had his eyes on her for a moment, before the electricity was gone.

Both Pat and Colin Firth were frequent guests of Renée's birthday party, so she had come to know them moderately well over the past several years. Previously, the party had been such a close-knit group that Beth was treated more like a guest than as the coordinator. Over the years, Patrick especially, had become what she considered a "friendly acquaintance." She rarely saw him outside of the event, but during this time, once a year, they would catch up and have a good conversation between the two of them. As much as she really wanted to continue that tradition, she _really_ wanted to find Darcy.

After the hug, Pat had stepped back a little, affording her at least the ability to look into the room behind him. Immediately her eyes began to scan the guests that she could see.

"So, how have you been? How's work going?" Patrick attempted to continue the conversation in the usual manner.

"Good. I mean, really good," Beth began distractedly, "I've taken on a few new clients, trying to expand the firms offerings, so…" She trailed off as her eyes spotted her handsome target off to right, inside the room; Darcy was facing her direction, but not facing her, and he looked to be in conversation with someone. Unfortunately, that someone was too close to the wall that Beth couldn't see who it was.

"So…?" Patrick prodded gently, his tone suggesting part humor and part concern for her distraction.

"I'm sorry - so, things are going well, just changing a bit, but for the better I hope," she laughed apologetically, hoping that he didn't notice that her eyes were trained directly past him and on Darcy.

 _Who was he talking to? Why is he so angry?_ She could see his jaw clenching from here.

"One of these days, I'll hire you to throw me a party; once I get over the trauma each year of getting older," Patrick joked lightheartedly, laughing at himself.

His laughter drew Beth's gaze back to him just for a moment. _What did Patrick just say?_ Her brain took a pregnant pause to register his comment.

"You say that every year, Pat. I know better than to expect a call from you," she responded to his joke as her eyes moved back to Darcy.

 _He is yelling at someone. Ok, maybe not yelling loudly, but he was definitely arguing heatedly with someone._

Thankfully, there were speakers in that corner of the room to prevent the conversation from traveling. Although, she wished she could hear what was being said because whatever was going on, it was certainly emotional.

 _He's never looked that mad before. Well, except maybe that one time when he punched George._

This was different, even with his mask on, there was a hatred in his eyes, the likes of which Beth had up until now assumed was reserved for George Wickham.

"Earth to Beth…"

Suddenly, a hand was waving in front of her face, bringing her back to the man standing perplexed in front of her.

"I'm so sorry, Pat, I've been so rudely distracted," Beth apologized sincerely as her face flushed and she brought a hand up to her forehead.

"It's ok, this is a bit larger of an event than you are usually dealing with," Patrick graciously tried to rationalize her rudeness, his body turning with his words to emphasize the size of the party. As he turned to his left, he astutely followed Beth's line of vision and noticed the unknown, well-dressed gentlemen, angrily conversing with a mystery person. "Unless, there is something a bit more personal going on…" he trailed off suggestively.

Her face was probably turning beet red. Patrick was always giving her a hard time about not bringing a date.

"Well, I might have brought someone with me this year," she laughed nervously, but as her eyes darted back to Darcy, he was no longer there. Instead he was walking purposefully right toward her.

With barely a nod to Patrick, Darcy grabbed her arm and pulled her against him.

"We are leaving now," he said harshly.

The tautness of his voice, the determinedness of the words - he was on the edge of losing control of his anger.

Beth swallowed as she glanced back to Patrick who was staring at the two of them with genuine concern for her on his face. She gave him a weak smile, not wanting to worry him.

"What? What's wrong? Are you ok? Darcy, this is my job, I can't leave now," Beth replied, shocked and confused, not wanting to upset him further but needing him to understand that he couldn't keep jeopardizing her professional life.

Darcy turned toward Patrick, his eyes assessing the other man as to how much of a potential threat that he was.

 _Dear Lord. Men and their jealousy._

"Darcy, this is my friend, Patrick. He starred with Renée in the film," Beth stammered. Trying to sound reassuring as she placed her hand on his arm.

Darcy turned to face Patrick, stepping partially in front of Beth, to shake Patrick's hand in greeting.

"Miss Bennet isn't feeling well, so I'm going to take her home. I'm sure everything is under control here but please convey her condolences to Miss Zellweger," Darcy stated firmly, his face cold and unyielding.

"Darcy!" Beth exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him to face her. "I can't leave, I just told you."

"We are leaving now. I will carry you out of here if necessary so, unless you want to make a scene, I suggest that you follow my story."

 _He's not kidding._ His eyes were completely black with sincerity. She was leaving now; how she chose to make her exit he left up to her.

With a weak smile at Patrick, she followed his story, "I'm sorry, Patrick. I have to go. If anyone needs me tell them they can reach me on my cell. Thank you," she said firmly before Darcy could prevent her from even offering that lifeline to her staff.

With a cold stare at Mr. Intolerable, she turned and walked purposefully through the throng of guests and out of the party, her gorgeous captor at her heels.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

She was livid. Then again, so was he.

They sat in complete silence on the car ride back to the Plaza. Darcy brewing over whatever conversation, interaction that had caused him to force her to leave. She was just so angry, she just didn't even know where to start, other than with the temptation to tell the driver to take her back to her and Jane's apartment.

 _That won't solve anything._

No, she wasn't going to let her emotions get the best of her - even if that emotion was justified anger. Something had happened back there, something that had affected him to his core and God help her, she wanted to know what it was. She was angry and wanted to punish him, but more than that, she didn't want to blow up at him because she wanted to know who he had talked to.

 _Was it someone that he had done business with?_

 _Maybe it was something to do with George._

 _Or Mrs. DeBourgh. God, I hope not._

A million scenarios ran through her mind as the city lights passed by the window, but for some reason, she had this feeling deep down that this was about someone in Darcy's past that she hadn't encountered yet, that it had to do with a personal situation in his past that he hadn't shared with her yet. Yes, she was angry that he forced her to leave, but it was true that she technically didn't have to stay for the entire event; everything was prepared and scheduled, and usually for a scenario like this, she only stayed for the first hour or two except with Renée, the gathering was usually much smaller and so she had always just stayed the whole time.

She felt her anger rising again, but she refused to look at him, even though she could feel his eyes on hers. She felt her phone buzzed inside her purse and pulled it out to see that she had two texts from Patrick - one asking if she was ok and the second to let her know that everything was fine at the party and that Renée said to feel better. She smiled at his thoughtfulness; he was such a nice person. Feeling Darcy's gaze searing a hole through her back, she knew that he watching her message someone on her phone and she could only imagine who he thought that it was. As much as she wanted to reassure him that Patrick was just (barely) a friend, she was too pissed to bridge the gap between them right now.

 _Serves him right. He can stew over it for a little longer._

She typed out a response, assuring Pat that she was just fine and she was sorry for jetting out but not to worry. She hit send just as the car pulled up to the hotel.

Not waiting for the driver, Beth opened her own door and got out of the car, walking purposefully into the hotel and towards the elevators. She needed space from Darcy, and a drink, before this confrontation that was about to happen. She reached the elevators just as one was closing and managed to hop inside, glimpsing a livid Darcy stalking towards the doors as they closed. Using the few quiet moments on the way to the top, Beth tried to organize her plan on how to deal with this situation.

Like most situations involving Darcy, she could kick herself because she wasn't even mad that he forced her to leave.

 _Well, she was on some level, but she was mostly upset because he didn't tell her what was going on before forcing her to leave._

 _At least have the decency and respect to tell me what's going on before making me leave an event that I'm responsible for._

She had seen his face, his body language - whatever had transpired was traumatic and she would have left willingly had he just opened up. _Men!_ She stepped off the elevator and hastily entered the apartment, making a beeline for the dining room and the liquor cabinet. Pouring herself two fingers of whiskey, she walked into the living room and stared out into the sparkling skyline of the city, lighting up the night.

The door to the apartment slammed harshly as the sound of Darcy's footsteps became louder with his approach. She didn't turn, but she could sense that he had stopped at the edge of the couch and was staring at her, waiting for her to make the first move.

 _One deep breath. One deep drink._ Her last minute fortifications before moving to face him.

 _Tortured._ That was how he looked and it wasn't what she had expected; she had expected to see the same anger in his face that was present their whole ride home, the same anger than grew more exaggerated as she'd let the elevator doors close without him. Sure, it was still present, but his expression was overwhelmingly laced with pain. It was the typical Darcy response: rash actions followed by remorseful apologies.

 _Why couldn't he just be open with her in the first place and avoid all of this?_

Her mouth thinned as her anger and frustration began to surface again.

"God, you are so beautiful," Darcy said, as if he couldn't help the words from coming out of his mouth.

Her mouth parted slightly at the unexpected compliment, anger momentarily dispersing as pleasure filled her. She couldn't help the blush that stole over her cheeks at his words, but she steeled herself from being completely distracted by her desire for him.

"What happened tonight?" she blurted out indignantly, washing her nerves down with a quick sip of whiskey.

" _Fuck,"_ he said vehemently, running his hand through his hair as he took a step towards her.

"Why can't you just tell me, Darcy? Why do we have to go through all of this? If you could just be open with me, this whole situation could have been avoided," she continued, exasperated, her outrage growing with each question that slipped from her mouth, "why did we have to leave? What happened? I saw you talking to someone and you were so angry, angrier than the time that you punched George. Why couldn't you just explain what happened? _I would have left if you had just asked._ "

When she had stopped, mostly to catch her breath, she realized how much her voice had risen during her tirade as her frustration found the words to express itself.

Darcy was staring at her, his jaw clenching, as her words sunk in. His eyes darkened and she knew that he was hurting, not just from whatever had happened earlier but by how he had treated her as a result.

"Was it something to do with George? I know you were just in Chicago because of him," Beth forged on, looking for any flicker of recognition in his face. "Was it Mrs. DeBourgh? Has she done something? Has she threatened you, or me, or Georgiana?"

Darcy let out a quick, harsh laugh, halting Beth's interrogation instantly. She looked at him waiting for the explanation, assuming she had struck a nerve with one of those suggestions.

"I wish it was any of them," Darcy began, "hell, I wish it was all of them but, it's not. _It's her._ "

 _Her who?_

 _Oh my God._

"Her, as in…" Beth's voice was barely perceptible as she trailed off, waiting for the confirmation that she knew was coming.

"My ex." His voice was laced with hatred. "The fucking bitch is back, and I can't…"

He trailed off, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Beth's heart ached as she watched this strong man struggle to control his pain and anger and immediately, she knew that punishing him was not going to bring them closer together right now.

"What happened?" she asked, softly.

"God, Beth," he paused again, shaking his head, "I can't talk about it right now, I'm so fucking on edge. I will tell you, I swear on my life, but I just can't focus right now. I feel like I can't breathe. _I need you._ "

His eyes bore into hers on that last statement and Beth saw the need burning in them. His need for her, for her comfort, for her to help him soothe and erase the pain from his past that had come back to haunt him. He needed her solace, her grounding; she was his physical tether to world and right now, his mind, his emotions were spinning out of control

" _Please,_ " he begged.

Holding his tortured gaze, she set down her glass and held out her hand, signaling her invitation and acquiescence. _She was his lifeline, and she would be damned if she closed herself off from him when he needed her most._

She barely even registered his movement across the room before she was crushed against him, his lips on hers. She kissed him back with every emotion coursing through her body; all her anger and frustration with him mixed and melded with her pain and empathy at his suffering, her fear of what had transpired. She poured it all out into that kiss until the only emotions she was left with were desire and love.

One arm held her fast to him, while his other hand roamed over her body, clutching her ass, forcing her hips flush to his so that she could feel the hard evidence of his need. It then moved up to grasp her breast, toying with her nipple through the fabric of her dress.

"I can't go slow, Beth," he said, strained, his breathing as labored as hers, "I need you now."

"It's ok," she responded, her voice thick with desire, " _I need you, too."_

Her admission released him, released everything that he had been trying to hold back. Pushing her up against the window, he roughly yanked her dress up, his hand delving beneath the material. He groaned loudly as his hand discovered her soft, unprotected, folds soaking with need for him.

" _Fuck, you are incredible."_

She smiled to herself just before his mouth claimed hers again. She'd been hoping he would appreciate lack of undergarments tonight.

Her arms around his neck, he grabbed her ass, lifting her and hooking her legs around his waist. She hadn't even realized when he had undone his fly until she felt his pulsing erection slam inside of her. Pleasure rocketed through her as her mouth opened under his in a gasp, allowing his tongue to plunge deep inside her lips, just as his penis was doing to her swollen lips below.

He thrust into her uncontrollably. Beth was momentarily concerned that they were going to break the window, but her escalating climax quickly blurred any rational though from her mind.

She moaned his name, begging him for release.

"God, you are so fucking warm and tight," he ground out. "I'm going to come, _come with me."_

His thrusts became more frenzied, pushing her right to the edge, when suddenly his expert fingers were on her clit and she went soaring, screaming his name in unison with his shout of release. His hips continued to jerk against hers as the waves of their climax began to finally slow, his forehead came to rest on her shoulder and she felt the rapidness of his breathing against the equally rapid rise and fall of her chest.

After a few moments, she felt him pull out of her, allowing her legs to come back and rest shakily on the ground, her dress dropping to cover her as if nothing had ever happened. Her body fully sated meant that her mind was easily able to shift back into gear, immediately refocusing on the need to know what had happened between Darcy and his ex-girlfriend. Adjusting himself, Darcy's gaze finally returned to meet hers - one filled with hazy, yet determined, curiosity. His mouth thinned, his eyes glazing over as the remnants of pleasure left only to be replaced with hardened frustration as he, too, returned to the reality of the situation.

"Do you trust me?" he asked her bluntly.

Taken aback by his question, she stammered out, "Of course I trust you. I…wouldn't be here if I didn't."

"I want to show you something," he responded, cryptically.

Beth prayed that this wasn't some sort of distraction to delay the answering the questions she knew would be painful for him to visit. She watched as he righted his pants, his penis still semi erect and uncomfortably tucked away. Taking off his coat and tie, he undid the top two buttons on his shirt before holding out his hand to her.

Grasping his hand with a squeeze of reassurance, Beth followed Darcy as he led them back past the dining room and office, into the hallway, past the spare bedroom before coming to stop in front of the locked door at the end of the hall.

There had been so many secrets, so many questions, that Beth had completely forgotten about her curiosity to know what was behind the locked door. She'd almost resigned herself to thinking that it wasn't part of the apartment, that it belonged to some other room, even though, in retrospect, that didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Letting go of her hand, Darcy pulled out a small keyring from his pocket, a single key hanging from the ring. Turning the key in the lock, he opened the door, letting it swing wide, even though his body was blocking most of her view. He didn't reach for her hand again, but walked into the center of room and turned to face her.


	11. Chapter 11

Merry Christmas Everyone! :)

Chapter 11

 _It was his studio._

Beth's mouth dropped as she walked hesitantly into the room behind Darcy. There were canvases, drying racks, sketchpads of all sizes lining the walls. The only furniture in the room was a small drafting table in the corner, a stool sitting in front of an easel in the center of the room, and a small love seat that was covered with a dark sheet.

Beth slowly made her way around the room, exploring what was obviously all Darcy's work as she went. Still life paintings, sketches, portraits, all haphazardly stored around the room. She saw the sketch that he had done of her that first night in the living room. _So this is where it had gotten to._ Not just that one, she came across many sketches of her, mostly of her face, ones that he must have drawn from memory. Her face flushed at the thought, knowing how much he was thinking of her even when she wasn't right in front of him, seeing how accurately he could depict her features without her there.

Turning to face him, she said, "This is all yours?"

 _Smooth. Of course it is dummy._ She just didn't know how else to get the conversation started.

His response was a swift nod.

"They are beautiful. I didn't realize…" _that you were so talented, that you had time to do all this, that this was what you've been hiding behind this door._ So many things.

"Come here, Beth," Darcy instructed her, his eyes locking with hers, pulling her towards him.

She stopped just in front of him, the couch behind her.

"Do you trust me?"

She nodded meekly. His hands came up and reached behind her back, unzipping her dress and lightly tugging it from her shoulders, allowing it to slip softly to the floor.

"Sit," he instructed, nodding to the couch behind her. At her questioning gaze, he continued, "Don't worry, I'm going to tell you what happened, I just want to draw you while I do it. _I've been dreaming about doing this for too long._ " His eyes darkened with desire, locking with hers as she backed up and reclined along the couch.

She flushed learning that he had dreamt of drawing her nude. Tingles of anticipation burned through her, knowing that, of all people, he wanted to capture her on paper.

Moving back, he pulled the stool up the easel and grabbed a fresh sheet of parchment paper to work with. While he was getting himself situated, Beth awkwardly tried to arrange her pose to look as sexy as possible.

 _Hard to do when you've never even thought about being drawn naked before._

"What do you want to know?"

 _What?!_ She was shocked that he was letting her guide their conversation. Pleased, but still shocked. After she was certain that he wasn't going to try to avoid the conversation, she figured he would sit her down and tell her what he wanted her to know - _and only that._ But, here he was, sitting and watching her expectantly, trusting her to take the lead just as she was trusting him.

"What happened tonight?" she asked, wishing she could have been a little more precise but there were a thousand things running through her mind, especially now that she heard his pencil moving across the paper.

"I was looking for you at the party and I saw my ex watching me from the corner of the room," he responded, his eyes focused on the canvas.

"Did she come up to you and confront you?" _This was worse than pulling teeth!_

"No." The word came out harshly as his jaw clenched down for a minute before he continued, "I approached her, just like I always _fucking_ did."

"What do you mean?" Confused, she began to move slightly from her pose.

" _Stay still,_ " he reprimanded, his eyes meeting hers for a moment to accentuate the request. When she moved back to her original position, he returned to his drawing and to answering her questions. "I was always supposed to be in control, its what she wanted. So, I always had to act first, to call her, to see her, to fuck her." Beth flinched at the thought. "Even though my actions were really subconsciously dictated by her. I should have just ignored her last night, but I haven't seen her in five years, I never expected to see her again and as soon as I did, my first instinct was to approach her and deal with her the only way I've ever known - by taking control."

"What did you say?"

"I demanded to know why she was there."

 _And….._

"What did she say?"

"What did she say or why was she there?" he replied with a harsh laugh. "She said she was there because she had been invited, of course. She was there for me though. I could see it in her eyes, her expression, everything - just like the first time."

"So she wants to get back together with you?" Beth felt her heart in her throat as she asked the question, knowing that this was a woman that Darcy had once loved.

"I told her to enjoy the party and went to leave when she stopped me. She asked why I was there, knowing that I'm not close with any of the hosts of the party, and knowing that going to public events isn't really in my nature." The more he recalled, the more intently he focused on his work, trying to keep his anger at bay. "It was all a fucking ploy, though. God, that _fucking bitch._ She asked, but she knows I was there with someone, as someone's date. I could see it in her fucking smirk. She was just toying with me."

"What did you tell her?" she prompted, holding her breath as to what Darcy had told this woman about her.

"I told her it was none of her fucking business, which only seemed to excite her more, knowing that I was hiding something."

The relief of knowing that he had shielded her from this woman was momentary as anxiety washed over her wondering what his ex's response had been.

"So, what did she say?" she asked with bated breath.

His scowl deepened and Beth heard his strokes on the paper become more harsh. _Well, that's not good._

"She came on to me. She pressed herself against me and whispered that only she knew what I liked, how I liked to fuck, that she was the only one to ever satisfy me, and that I was hers. _God,_ it makes me so fucking sick!" he said vehemently, his pencil snapping under the stress from his grip. Throwing the useless tool on the ground, he ran his hand harshly through his hair, his breathing harsh, as he struggled to control his rage.

Beth could only stare at him in painful shock. It was her worse fears verbalized - that she wasn't good enough for him, that she would never satisfy him like this woman had. She couldn't find the words to continue her questions, her throat thick as tears welled in her eyes.

"So, I smiled and told her 'not anymore.' That shocked her, wiped that obnoxious confidence off of her face. Thankfully, someone who knew her came over and addressed her, interrupting whatever response she was trying to form. So, I just turned and left while she was occupied. I wasn't going to waste any more time with that bitch and risk causing a scene."

Warmth spread through her, as she tried to persuade herself to trust that Darcy wanted nothing to do with this woman anymore. That he loved her, Beth, and that whatever feeling he had had for his ex were long gone.

"Is that why we left?"

"Yes," remorse finally outweighing the anger in his voice. "I knew she would follow me, and find you. I don't know what she would have done, but I didn't want anything to happen that would reflect badly on you for work. So, I made the decision that we needed to leave. I realize I could have presented it better. I was just so fucking on edge and unprepared; I just needed to get you out of there."

"I see. So, you were trying to protect me from her…" Beth interpreted out loud.

Darcy gave her a curt nod, "I just can't stand the thought of her approaching you, what she would do." He shook his head in disgust.

"Darcy, I'm a strong person, I can handle myself," she tried to reassure him, "I've dealt with enough terrible people for my work, hell, even in my family. I mean, I handled Mrs. DeBourgh did I not?" She gave him a small smile, showing a brave face.

She managed to lure a small smile out onto his face amidst the frustration of their conversation.

"You shouldn't fucking have to though."

"So, you haven't seen her since you broke up until now? She's never approached you before?" Beth asked.

"No, thank God. Not that I advertised my whereabouts; once I recovered I tried to stay off the grid."

"So, why now?" _What had changed? What brought her back?_

"Fuck if I know," he snarled before remembering who he was talking to, "Sorry, I'm just so fucking angry that she would approach me like that." Shaking his head, he stood up from the easel and came to sit on the floor in front of her. "God, I'd love to believe it's just out of boredom, that she's just back to toy with me - because that I could fucking deal with; but that's not how she works. I don't even want to think this because I know hardly anyone knows about us, but it's the only reason that I can think of for why she would come back _now;_ somehow, she knows about you, about us. Somehow, she knows I'm in a relationship, that I've moved on, and she wants to destroy it. She wants to prove that she can still have me." Here, he paused on a harsh laugh, "She has no fucking clue how wrong she is." His gaze was strong and reassuring, soothing her self-conscious fears, as he leaned in and kissed her tenderly.

"How would she know about me though? Who would have told her? Only Jane knows that I'm staying here. I haven't even told Char," Beth wondered aloud.

His eyes darkened, as if he might know how but no answer came from his lips.

"But really, why now?" she said, tearing her eyes from his as she continued, "What about all the other women you've been with since then? Why wouldn't she come and harass any of them? Especially Anne, with Mrs. Debourgh practically advertising your relationship? Why does it bother her now that you are with someone?"

"Because I haven't been," he replied, his voice softening significantly.

"What do you mean? Im sure she would have heard about at least a few of the others," she replied confused.

"I'm sure she would have, except that I haven't been with any other woman since then," he replied bluntly, his eyes locking with hers.

"Oh," she replied, speechless for a moment at the implications of what he just revealed. "What about the women that you, ahh, you know, just slept with? Or maybe she didn't care because it wasn't serious?"

"Beth," her name came out on a short laugh, "I don't think you understand. I haven't been in a relationship with anyone, physical or otherwise for five years."

 _What?!_ Her mouth opened but no words came out. _He hasn't been with anyone in five years. He's been CELIBATE for five years. Holy fucking shit._

"Yeah," he responded to her astonished expression, "So maybe you'll cut me a little bit of slack when I can't keep my fucking hands off you." He grinned devilishly as his eyes darkened with desire.

"How?" was all she could manage to get out, her brain still processing that fact. _No wonder he reacts and behaves the way that he does, he's never had another opportunity to see how different a real relationship can be - not that you have much more experience in that area, Beth._

"How?" he laughed again at her question, "I've just told you that I've spent a majority of my life controlling every situation; that includes all potential physical ones."

 _Good point._ "Why, though?"

"Because it fucking hurt that's why. I was so fucked up after it ended, there was no way that I was going to get into that type of situation again. When it ended, I realized how little control I actually had in the relationship, or whatever it was. Actually, Charles tried to set me up on a blind date a little while after - he didn't know what had happened, but he knew I was struggling; I was so overbearing the poor girl bolted before our meals even came out. It was a disaster and I just decided that I didn't need that kind of distraction or weakness in my life," he explained, "And then I met you."

Beth blushed deeply, biting her lip as she was just realizing the other implication of his confession. _He never been tempted enough to start a relationship with anyone until her._ The thought sent fire through her body, knowing that she had such an effect on him.

With desire already on his mind, Darcy's eyes were quick to notice her body flushing at his compliment, her nipples peaking at the thought of how much he wanted her, and the subtle shifting in her legs to ease the pressure that built between her thighs.

He groaned and Beth's eyes shot to his, noticing the distinct bulge in his pants along the way. Jaw clenched, he looked at her questioningly, knowing that he had promised her a conversation and would continue if that's what she wanted.

 _She did want that, but right now she wanted him more. She wanted to feel that passion that only she had been able to awake in him after years of celibacy._

She leaned down and dropped a soft kiss on his lips, enjoying the sharp intake of his breath as he wondered which direction their conversation was going to go.

Pulling back, she looked him in eyes from under heavy eyelids and said, " _Show me."_

Needing no further invitation, his lips engulfed hers, tongue plunging into her mouth, as his deep groan sent waves of pleasure to her core, soaking her inner thighs.

She felt him moving, and then moving her so that she was sitting properly on the couch with Darcy on his knees between her legs, hands gripping her waist, and mouth still locked with hers. Her hands moved to thread through his hair, pulling him towards her.

She felt him smile against her lips as his hands reach up, extricating hers from his hair and using a rubber-band, loosely linked her wrists and moved them to rest behind her head, effectively lifting her breasts and presenting them for him to enjoy. It was a position that he quickly took advantage of, his hands coming down to cup both swollen mounds, squeezing and kneading them until she was moaning and unsuccessfully trying to rub her core against the front of him.

His mouth finally left hers and made its way down to her aching nipples. The intense, hot suction of his mouth on her right nipple had her gasping and arching against the couch, trying to get more of the pleasure that he was giving her.

" _Not yet,"_ he said softly as he switched to lavish his oral attentions to her other breast.

His tongue teased and toyed with the taut peak, as he enjoyed watching her head thrash from side to side, her body trying to get closer to the orgasm that he was going to give her.

Just when she thought she would die from intense ache between her thighs, she felt the soft touch of his fingertips between the lips of her vagina. Her hips jerked in response to the electric sparks of pleasure that immediately began to shoot from her clit.

" _You are so wet for me,"_ he groaned appreciatively against her breast.

" _Please, Darcy,"_ she begged in return.

" _I need to taste you."_

She let out a loud moan in anticipation of the tortuous pleasure that he was about to inflict. Kissing his way down her stomach, his hands grabbed underneath her thighs to spread them apart widely. She barely was able to crack open her eyes as she felt him spread her folds, exposing her core to the cool air and his hot gaze. His eyes locked with hers for a brief moment as his mouth descended on her but at the first swipe of his tongue, her eyes squeezed shut, her muscles clenching as pleasure rocketed through her.

She wanted to move her hands; she wanted to grasp his head and pull him harder on her, but she couldn't find the strength or the focus. His tongue taunted her clit - licking, sucking, and finally entering her. Beth struggled to remember to breath between moans as her climax built.

He didn't make her wait this time; this time was for her. His mouth pleasured her, bringing her up and over the edge of her orgasm. Beth screamed his name at her release, hips undulating against his mouth as he rode her climax out, tasting the pleasure he had given her.

When her body finally relaxed, completely sated against the couch, he stood up over her and pulled the band off her wrists, helping her arms back down to her sides as her eyelids just started to flutter open. Her vision took a moment to bring Darcy into focus, standing in front of the couch, just looking at her.

 _I must look a sight - all flushed and wet._

Just as the thought crossed her mind to move her legs shut, he spoke.

"One day, I'm going to draw you like this. Sated and so fucking beautiful," he said thickly, his voice deep with unfulfilled desire.

A wave of desire rolled through her, even though she had been certain that that pleasure had momentarily numbed all of her senses. That's when she saw his hands at the waistband of pants, glaringly taut over the strain of his erection. He efficiently undressed before her, wincing as he freed his erection from its confines; the display indicating how glaringly and painfully aroused he was.

Beth watched him through heavy lids as he shoved his pile of very-expensive-suit across the floor and stalked towards her. Standing between her legs, his gaze caught hers as it travelled up the length of his body, stopping appreciatively on his massive erection.

Not knowing where the thought or strength came from, Beth found herself pushing forward from the couch and capturing the head of his penis with her mouth. Pleasure seared through her at his sharp, surprised intake of breath and the subsequent enlargement of his member, if that was even still possible.

" _Fuck, Beth,"_ he said harshly, shoving his fingers through her hair, grasping her head to push himself farther into her mouth.

When she felt him push all the way to the back of her throat, she swallowed deeply, relishing in the deep groan it elicited from him. He thrust into her mouth a few more times, allowing her to repeat her torture before pulling out quickly and completely.

"I need to be inside you when I come," his explantation hoarse trying to restrain his overwhelming desire, "and you aren't ready yet."

 _What is he saying? I am so ready._

His smirk suggested that he knew what she had been thinking. She felt a burning ache coursing through her veins, pooling in her core, but that wasn't enough. Darcy was about to explode and he wanted her right there with him.

Gripping her hips, Beth felt him turn her to lay on the couch as he knelt between her heads. Positioning his head between her thighs, he set his mouth against her clit. The bundle of nerves already extremely tender and sensitive from the previous two orgasms, Beth felt herself spasm against the couch at the first lick of his tongue.

 _She couldn't take any more of this. She was ready._

"Darcy, please, I need you… inside…I can't…" her stuttered whisper trailing off as his mouth teased and tormented her.

She felt him groan against her center as he felt the rush of liquid released by her aching passage. Everything around her faded into the background as her carried her dangerously close to the peak of release again. Just when she felt that she couldn't hold it back any longer, his mouth released her and was replaced by the blunt head of his erection at her entrance. Immediately coated with her juices, he plunged fully inside of her.

 _It was too much!_

Her head thrashed, her hips jerked - she felt her muscles clench around him as she ground her hips into his.

" _Look at me."_

She heard his command, her eyes opening immediately - anything to reach her climax. Staring into the fire in his eyes, he gave her what she needed, thrusting rapidly inside of her.

" _Now"_ he yelled.

She only saw his mouth begin move before their bodies succumbed to the pleasure of their orgasms. She screamed his name while her overly stimulated passage clenched vigorously around his pulsing erection, feeling the hot jet of his release coat her walls, lubricating them even more against his frantic thrusts.

Beth felt as though their climax lasted an hour, her body in a state of complete satiation and exhaustion when Darcy finally collapsed on top of her, his head resting on her chest. She sighed in contentment at the peace that came over the both of them.

"I love you," she whispered softly.

"I love you, too." She heard his deep response just as her mind trailed off into sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The smell of strong coffee roused Beth from her deep slumber the next morning. Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was a breakfast tray sitting on the side of the bed where Darcy should be.

 _Wait, how did I get into bed?_

Somehow she had made it into Darcy's bed overnight. She'd been so exhausted from the stress ( _and then the exertion_ ) of the evening that she must have not realized when he carried her in here. Pulling herself up to relax against the headboard, she secured the sheet around her naked chest and reached immediately for the steaming cup of Joe sitting on the tray.

Craving the caffeine, she took a sip, not realizing how freshly made it must have been and immediately burned her tongue, spitting the liquid back into the cup with a pained groan. She heard a small chuckle from the bathroom and turned to see Darcy watching her from the doorway.

"Not funny," she groaned, unable to stop the smile that spread over her face, too.

"Don't worry, I did the same thing. Eat something first and then go for the coffee; that seemed to do the trick for me."

Following his suggestion, Beth pulled the tray table over her lap, eagerly examining her breakfast options this morning. Deciding to tackle the eggs first, she took a mouthful of scrambled eggs, savoring their fluffy texture.

 _Damn, he's a good cook._

"How did you sleep?" Darcy asked.

He must have just taken a shower not that long ago because he was wearing a bathrobe and his hair still looked damp.

"Good," she replied, swallowing her giant bite of food before continuing, "I didn't even remember you bringing me in here last night; I was so exhausted and out of it."

"Yeah, you were," he chuckled, "I guess I might have had something to do with that though."

His eyes flashed with heat and a devilish spark of pride. She responded by rolling her eyes and taking another bite of her food; his head was already big enough, she didn't need to encourage him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him take a lazy seat in the armchair in the corner of the room, his robe separating, giving her a dangerously tantalizing view of his nakedness underneath. _Damn him._ She didn't want to acknowledge the obvious move on his part, but she couldn't stop her physical reaction, and Darcy's grin widened further as he saw a blush steal over her cheeks.

"So, do you think she will try to contact you again?" Beth asked. _That should tone down his spirits a bit._

She was right; even though he made no move to adjust the robe, his grin disappeared as his face became shadowed and serious.

"I hope not, but honestly, if she is back here for me, she won't stop," he admitted honestly.

 _At least he's able to talk this though much more calmly this morning._

"What are you going to do?" Beth asked as she put some strawberry jam on her toast, still hungry after finishing the full plate of eggs.

"I've already tightened security here at the hotel and at my office," his lips thinned in annoyance over the measures he was being forced to take, "but, I can handle her. It's you that I'm concerned about."

"Darcy, I told you, I can handle myself. It's really ok." Although, his concern was touching, she could and would deal with this woman if necessary.

 _She could take care of herself._

"I know. I just don't want her even fucking near you." His anger starting to seep into his words. "You have no idea, Beth. She's fucking manipulative and deceitful and once her mind is intent on something, she will stop at nothing to have it. I just can't stand the thought that that something is destroying you. I won't risk it," he finished harshly.

"Ok," Beth acquiesced, "whatever you think is best. I'm not going to change my life though, or hide myself away between here and my office."

Darcy's lips thinned at her defiance.

"I'm going to have some of my guys follow you, discreetly of course, so you can continue to do whatever you want. I just need to know that someone is making sure you are safe. Please," he concluded with a sigh.

The heart wrenching concern written on his face was clear, and Beth's heart leapt at his show of emotion. Giving him a small nod, she watched him visibly relax when he realized that she wasn't going to fight him on this.

 _At least for right now; they could cross that bridge when they came to it._

What Beth really wished was that he would just tell her who this woman was, even show her a photo, so that she knew who to look out for. But she knew how deeply he tried to bury that part of his life and how strongly he tried to keep her and their relationship separate from it.

"I don't want you to be afraid that she would do anything violent, that's not her style," Darcy continued, "but I need this, otherwise I won't be able to focus unless I know that you are safe from her reach."

"It's ok. I understand. What about just getting a restraining order?" Beth suggested. _Seems like the simplest way to keep her away…_

Darcy ran his hand through his tousled hair. "I wish I could. It's a little more complicated than that, unfortunately. Let's just say that other people would be harmed if I went that route."

 _Great. More secrets._

"Well, I wish there was more I could do…" she trailed off.

"You've done more than enough, Beth. God, putting up with me the way that I am, all the secrets, and now this. I don't know why you would do it."

"Oh, I think that you do," she said softly, letting her love for him show in her gaze.

He returned her small smile.

"I feel so fucking terrible about last night. Our first night out together, in public, and I ruined it. Please tell me there is something I can do to make it up to you."

"Darcy, please, I've forgiven you. I understand what the situation was; it's ok."

"I want to go with you to your next event. Please."

Beth sighed, "Well, I don't know when that is doing to be. Actually, I might have one coming up that you would enjoy. It's an art gallery opening," Beth began, but before she could continue, her phone began to buzz and she immediately recognized the number as Renée's.

"Hello?" Beth answered, watching Darcy's eyes narrow on her, wondering who was on the other line.

 _Beth! How are you feeling?_

"Much better this morning, thank you. How was the rest of your party? I hope everything was to your liking. I'm so sorry I had to leave, I felt terrible, but I didn't want to spoil your night," Beth apologized, her statement giving Darcy the information to deduce that it was Renée on the other end and nothing to be concerned about.

 _"_ _Oh, please, don't even think that! The party was wonderful. You always do a fabulous job and last night was no exception! Everything was perfect even though I sprung the bigger party on you this year; thank you so much! You know, I was feeling a bit under the weather earlier this week, I hope I didn't pass anything on to you. I just wanted to call and make sure that you were ok."_

Beth watched Darcy walk into the closet to change as she listened to Renée babble on.

"Don't worry about me. I'm feeling much better this morning, thank you. And thanks for calling. I'm relieved to know that everything went off without a hitch."

Beth was trying to end the call efficiently so she could continue her conversation with Darcy but Renée was making that a little difficult. She watched with frustration as Darcy came out of the closet, dressed, and walked out towards his office.

 _"_ _Yes, you did an excellent job! Although Patrick was sorry to see you leave so soon. I would expect a call from him in the next few days!"_

"Yes, I was really upset that I had to leave, but I didn't want to ruin the party by getting everyone sick. Thank you for calling to check in with me, I was going to call you Monday and not bother you over the weekend, but at least I can recuperate relieved, knowing everything went smoothly."

 _"_ _Of course! Well, feel better and I'll be in touch sometime soon to reserve your services for next year."_

"Thanks Renée! Happy birthday and congratulations again! Talk to you soon."

Beth ended the call with a sigh of relief, because the party went well, but also because she was finally off the phone and could go searching for Darcy. She hopped out of bed and ran into the closet, pulling out a new red thong and an oversized white t-shirt. Just as she began to walk past the bed, she saw her phone begin to buzz; it was Jane calling. She almost ignored the call, but then thought better of it when she began to wonder who could have possibly told Darcy's ex about their relationship. Hoping Jane might be able to provide a clue, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Beth. What are you up to?"

"Umm," _Trying to pry information out of my sometimes-intolerable boyfriend._ "Not much, what's up?"

"Well, I know it's kind of last minute but I was out with mom and Caro who suggested stopping at Kleinfeld's and trying on dresses; not really to buy something today because just to try different styles and see what I like. Anyway, Caro called and they have an open appointment if we head over right now, but I wanted to call and see if you could come because I don't want you to not be there."

 _Great._ If she didn't know how big of a deal trying on wedding dresses was before, the tone of Jane's voice made it abundantly clear how important it was for her to have her sister there.

"Um, sure, yeah, of course I can be there," Beth stuttered out as she tried to organize her thoughts, "I wouldn't miss it. I'll just change and meet you guys there probably in like 20 minutes."

"Great!" Jane said, the relief she felt transmitting crystal clear through her voice.

Beth hung up her cell phone and tossed it on the bed in frustration. She wanted to be there for Jane, _she really did,_ but Darcy and she had just broached new territory last night that wasn't as fully explored yet.

 _Well, not as fully explored as some other things last night._

Beth blushed at the recollection; she had let someone draw her naked. She had let _Darcy_ draw her naked. Never in a million years could she have pictured herself feeling comfortable to do that.

 _I wonder what it looks like._

She hadn't even seen what the result had been. In her defense, she'd been pretty well-occupied. Pulling on an oversized sweater-dress and some over-the-knee boots was the best fashion statement Beth could manage on such short notice.

 _Why today?!_

Her mind was still reeling over everything that she had learned last night; the biggest bomb was that Darcy had been celibate for the past five years. She knew his ex had done a number on him, she did, but the fact that it had traumatized him so much to the point where he didn't even want to be bothered with the physical pleasure of being with someone…it blew her mind.

On the other hand, it still brought butterflies to her stomach to think that she was the one who had pulled him from that uncaring, unemotional place; that she was the one to show him what a loving relationship could be like. Not that she had much practice, which was a little overwhelming. _No pressure, Beth._

And then there was the whole other issue of Darcy's ex being in town. She desperately wanted to know who this woman was and what she wanted with Darcy now, after five years. Deep down, Beth already knew what she wanted: _Darcy._ This woman, after everything that she had done, expected to come back here and find Darcy waiting patiently for her, gratefully willing to enter back into some sort of relationship with her. _Boy, was this woman delusional if she thought that._

Grabbing her phone from the bed, Beth realized she was supposed to be in the fashion district in ten minutes - it was going to be cutting it close. She turned to rush out and find Darcy, only to run into the solid wall of his chest.

"Hi," she said softly, immediately losing her train of thought.

"Where are you going?" Darcy responded, his voice demanding and his controlling mask in place.

"Ahh, well Jane just called. She wants me to meet them over at Kleinfeld's so she can try on dresses," Beth quickly explained. "It was a last minute thing but she really wants me there and I don't want to miss it, even though I kind of do want to miss it."

"Who is 'them'?"

 _Man, he is still on edge from this whole ex-encounter._

"Jane, my mom, and Caroline," she answered calmly.

Even though his protective mask was in place, Beth could have sworn she saw an almost imperceptible flicker of rage in his eyes, but as soon as she blinked it was gone.

"Caroline who?"

 _Alright, Mr. Nosey-Pants._

"Caroline Bingley. You know, your best friend's sister," Beth said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

No response that time. No flicker of anything. _And that was what put her on guard._ No-emotion Darcy was the old Darcy, the one who existed before their relationship, before his admission that he didn't want to be like that anymore. In spite of all their arguments and problems, _he_ hadn't returned. _So, why was he back now?_

"And what if I want you to stay?" His voice was cool and decisive; Mr. Intolerable was definitely back.

"And what if I know that you won't make me?" Beth retorted, giving him a small smile to portray some measure of playfulness even though her eyes were unwavering, daring him to make that same mistake again.

Suddenly, his hands were on her hips and she was being spun around and pushed up against the wall. Darcy's body was flush against hers, trapping her, and she could feel the hard evidence of his erection pressing into her stomach.

"Darcy, what are you doing?" Beth asked in shock as her breath rushed out of her.

"Seeing if you want to stay."

"Darcy, I can't. I have to g—" Her protest was cut off as his mouth came down hard on hers, devouring her attempt to rationalize with him.

She kissed him back, hoping it would calm him into letting her go because she was definitely going to be late now. Unfortunately, her plan backfired, as she felt Darcy's determined fingers delving underneath her thong to reach her wet folds. Her body betraying her, she moaned into his mouth as his fingers stroked her clit.

" _Please,"_ she moaned. Whether she was begging to be released or for release, she couldn't decide.

Expertly and swiftly his fingers stroked her core sending her over the edge of her orgasm. She screamed into his mouth as stars burst behind her eyelids. Her passage clenched and coated his fingers that gently rode the waves of her pleasure, bringing her back down to Earth.

"Stay with me," she heard him whisper through the fog of satiation that surrounded her.

 _Darcy, ever the expert in delivering both pleasure and pain._

Beth blinked a few times to orient herself and try to control the budding tears forming in her eyes. She could still feel how aroused he was, but that was something he was going to have to deal with on his own. She grabbed his arm and extricated his hand from underneath her sweater.

Leaning in close to him, she whispered, "I had to go." The implied ' _how could you do this_ ,' went unsaid but permeated everything about the moment.

Unable to even meet his eyes, she quickly ducked underneath his arm as he registered her words, before he could try to stop her. Grabbing her cell, she all but ran for the door to the apartment, grabbing her purse and punching the elevator button furiously, expecting Darcy to come out any minute and carry her back inside over his shoulder. Just as she stepped inside the elevator, she heard a loud yell followed by a horrible crash and the shattering of glass from inside the apartment. With tears streaming down her face, she realized that for the first time since she'd started staying with him, she didn't plan on coming back tonight.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Beth walked two blocks, letting the cool, crisp air numb her face and her feelings, before hailing a cab to take her to the bridal salon. She couldn't think right now, everything inside her was a mess. The heart wrenching pain of knowing that in those few moments, all of the progress that Darcy and she had made so far in their relationship had evaporated. _Not evaporated, exploded, into a million tiny fragments._ It was mind numbing and too much to process knowing that she had to meet with her mom, Jane, and Caro right now, and pretend to be enthusiastic about someone else's love story.

Her phone buzzed; she assumed it was Jane calling to see where she was and how long until she would be there, Beth frantically dug through her purse to find it, only to pull it out and catch herself seconds before answering a call from _him._

 _God, fuck you, Darcy._

Holding on to the threads of anger permeating her hurt, she declined the call and forced herself to bottle up her emotions as she got into the cab. There was no time for feelings now. Maybe, if she was just going to see Jane, she could let them loose, open up to her sister, but not with her mom and Caro there. Now it was her turn to put on a mask, to put up a wall between her and the world.

 _Guess it's a good thing you've been learning from the master of masks for the past couple of months._

She let out a harsh laugh at herself, for her foolishness in thinking that Darcy could change, that he would want to, for her. Her heart ached, trying to tell her that he had changed, that he had made progress, that 'Rome wasn't built in a day,' but that only made her urge to cry stronger. Beth redirected her thoughts to the situation she was going to be entering; her sister, her mom, and Jane's future sister-in-law/her client, all happy and excited for this integral part of the wedding planning journey. Jane was going to be such a beautiful bride.

 _God, Jane is getting married._

There had been a few times when Beth had had to stop and remind herself that this was reality. That only a few short months ago, her sister had resigned herself to never finding that perfect person and now, here she was, trying on wedding gowns about to get married to the love of her life. Right now though, the almost miraculous quality of Jane's relationship was hitting her even harder.

How did her and Charles always seem to get along? Do they just never fight? _I mean, it is Jane but still, they have to fight about something, right?!_ How do they work things out? _Well, Charles probably doesn't have all the baggage that Darcy does._

Beth's mind was preoccupied the whole ride to the bridal salon in a comparison between what she knew about Jane and Charles' relationship and what was happening between her and Darcy. On the one hand, Jane and Charles were very similar, but mostly in their kindness and willingness to accommodate others, something that would be a benefit to a relationship. On the other hand, maybe her and Darcy were too alike, their need for independence and control too strong, their stubbornness too overbearing, that as consuming as their love and passion for each other was, it would just never be able to work between them.

"You ok, miss?"

Startled, Beth realized the cab had stopped and the cabbie was looking at her with a face of concern.

"I'm fine, thank you," she responded, wiping the rogue tear from her cheek and giving the man a grateful smile for his concern.

Stepping out of the cab, she took some long deep breaths of the cool air as she rushed inside. She'd never been in Kleinfeld's before, she hadn't even watched their show 'Say Yes to the Dress,' so she had to stop for a moment once inside and take in everything about this infamous bridal salon. Beautifully decorated with everything in white or cream, Beth made her way to the reception desk to ask where her sister would be. As the receptionist led her back into the salon, the happy and excited energy that infused the air instantly lifted Beth's mood. The walls were lined with wedding gowns of all different silhouettes and in varying colors - _who knew white could have so many variations?_ Beth watched future brides looking at themselves in the full length mirrors with their friends and family sitting near by, lovingly giving their opinions and support. She was led off to the left to where the fitting rooms were, and quickly saw - _more like heard -_ her mother talking at the end of the hall.

"Beth! Where have you been!" Mrs. Bennet yelled from down the hall, standing with Caro outside what she presumed was Jane's room.

Beth respectfully waiting until she joined her mother and Caro before answering.

"Sorry, Jane called me last minute and then I had to wait for a cab and traffic," she muttered her excuse, giving her mom and Caro a hug and hello. "Did Jane try any on yet?" Beth asked, trying to redirect the conversation from her tardiness.

"She's trying on her first one now. We already went around and picked out several for her to try. She tried to stall as long as she could for you to get here but there is only so many times you can look over the same selection of dresses," her mom scolded.

"I'm sorry," Beth mumbled, rolling her eyes, before turning to knock on the dressing room door. "Jane, I'm here. Sorry I'm so late!"

"Beth? It's ok! I'm just glad you're here! Be right out!" Jane's muffled reply came amidst the shuffling of material.

Plastering a smile on her face, she turned back to face her mother, whose sour expression had diminished slightly, and Caro, who was watching her intently.

"So, Beth, it looked like your event was a success last night," Caro began, before Mrs. Bennet could hijack the conversation again.

"Yes, from what I've heard it sounds like everyone had a great time. Renée is really great so I'm glad that everything went well," Beth replied with a smile, wondering if Caro had enjoyed the party after she had left.

"I thought I would see you again before it was over but I couldn't find you." Even though it was a statement, her tone implied that she expected Beth to provide a reason for her absence.

"I know, I'm sorry. I wasn't feeling that great so I ended up leaving early," Beth responded, following the cover story that Darcy had forced on her.

"Oh, really? I'm sorry to hear that. You seemed just fine when I saw you earlier." _Was she taunting her? What was her point?_

"Yeah, it came on kind of suddenly so I figured it was best just to go before it got worse or I passed it on to someone else."

"That was good thinking. It can be quite shocking how quickly feelings can change, that's for sure. I hope your date took good care of you, I was really looking forward to meeting him," Caro said coyly.

"What date? You brought a date somewhere?" Mrs. Bennet interjected, "Who is he? What does he do?"

Ignoring her mom, Beth stared at Caroline with confusion. Like before, it was never quite what she said that put Beth on the defensive, but it was the tone, and the looks, like she _knew_ something, like she was always one step ahead - _if that made any sense._

 _No, Beth it doesn't make sense. What has Caroline ever done to you? She's going to be Jane's sister-in-law and she's just trying to make conversation with you about your event and inquiring after your health. She's not Mrs. DeBourgh, you can RELAX, and stop treating everyone like an enemy._

Thankfully, Beth was relieved of having to answer her mother's questions as Jane promptly came out from the dressing room, drawing everyone's focus.

"Oh Jane, you look beautiful!" her mother exclaimed, approaching her to assess all angles of the gown.

"Mom, she's going to go stand in front of a bunch of mirrors so you'll get a good look at everything, give her some space to walk," Beth scolded.

Jane gave her a grateful glance as she started to follow her consultant out onto the floor and to their designated mirror and sitting area. Beth quickly took a seat in the chair, leaving her mom and Caro the small settee. Definitely needed to keep her distance from her mom's prying questions _._

Beth pretended to be entranced watching Jane maneuver her way onto the small podium as the consultant and her mother began to arrange the ornate, embroidered mermaid-style dress around her. She was however, still thinking about what Caro had said. _Why would she be calling her out about being sick? And what did she mean about 'how quickly feelings can change? Who says that about getting sick?_ It was like there was some double meaning that she was supposed to understand, but couldn't, for the life of her, fathom what it was. Not to mention the whole separate issue of Caro bringing up her date to the party in front of her mom; she couldn't really blame her for that though. Only Jane would know to never bring up any sort of relationship information in front of their mom unless she were planning on walking down the aisle with that person.

" _Beth,_ what do you think?"

Jane's voice registered in her head, and Beth realized that everyone was looking at her, waiting for her thoughts. _Busted._

"Sorry," she muttered. She stood up and walked around Jane, carefully assessing the dress, all the while trying to hide the redness that had crept into her cheeks for being caught distracted from the present moment. "I mean, the dress is beautiful, Jane," she began, thoughtfully looking at the whole picture that her sister presented, "but, I'm just not sure that it's you."

She looked up to Jane, hoping that she hadn't offended her sister too much - _not that Jane would ever say._ What if this dress had been her first pick, her favorite? _Oh, God,_ Beth cringed at the thought, now dreading her sister's response.

"I agree," Jane said with a relieved smile, "I think it's just too busy of a style for me."

"Really, Jane? I think it looks fabulous! I knew it from the moment that I saw it how good it would look on you; you can't tell me that you don't agree," Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, before realizing that it wasn't actually her choice to make, "but, of course, if it's not your _style_ then let's see the next one."

Beth had breathed a sigh of relief, catching Jane's eye as soon as their mother had started talking. Clearly, Mrs. Bennet had her own ideas about what Jane looked best in and should wear, and Beth wasn't surprised in the least that Jane had acquiesced to trying on one of her mother's picks even though the dress was much too flashy for Jane's personality.

The consultant moved to help Jane down from the podium, the dress slightly too big and too long for Jane's frame. Taking advantage of her position, under the premise of making sure that Jane didn't step on any of the intricate beading of the train, Beth picked up the trailing end of the fabric and helped her sister back to the dressing room. The move serving a dual purpose to remove her from the great potential of continuing an awkwardly probing conversation with either Caroline or her mother; at this point, Beth wasn't sure who would be worse.

Making their way back to Jane's dressing room, the consultant let Beth go in and assist Jane out of and into the next dress, giving the sisters a moment of privacy.

"Thanks for that. I didn't know how to tell mom that it's definitely not my style," Jane said sheepishly as Beth unzipped the back of the offending gown.

"Of course! It's your wedding, Jane, don't let her push you into doing or wearing something that you don't like," Beth encouraged her sister, "I'm sorry I got here so late, I…ugh, well, if I had been here I wouldn't have even let her pull it off the rack."

"Is everything ok?"

"Of course, I'm fine," Beth responded automatically, keeping her eyes focused on unzipping the next dress option and positioning it in a way that Jane could climb into it, purposefully not looking at her sister.

"Beth, it's me. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand, but I know that you're not fine," Jane responded softly.

 _Of course she knew._

"You're right, I'm sorry," Beth apologized. "I just didn't want to be a downer on such an exciting day. Plus, once I start talking about it, I'm not sure how well I'll be able to control my emotions, and I don't want mom to see me like that."

"I understand," Jane acknowledged, catching Beth's eye as she zipped her sister into the dress, "do you want to come over after and talk?"

"That would be good," Beth said softly, "I think I might stay at the apartment tonight."

It had to be said, but her last statement almost broke down the dam holding her tears at bay.

"Ok, of course," Jane responded, knowing not to probe her sister any further.

Jane turned around and hugged her, understanding the gravity of what Beth had told her - that she was staying at the apartment tonight; it was all she needed to say to convey that something serious had happened between her and Darcy. Beth hugged her sister back, closing her eyes as a few tears slipped through.

"I'm always here for you, Beth," Jane whispered to her.

"I know, thank you," she replied shakily, "but, today is about you, and if you don't get out there, mom is going to come back here and make a scene looking for you."

Jane laughed as they carefully disentangled themselves so they didn't squash the gown between them. Beth picked up the train, of simple white satin this time, and helped her sister out of the room and back into the show room.

This time was different. Jane usually turned heads in public places but as they walked through the other bridal parties, it seemed to Beth that everyone was watching her sister. It was then that Beth consciously took a good look at the dress she had helped her sister in to.

It was a simple, white satin ball gown with off the shoulder sleeves. There was no lace, no beading, no ornate design; the dress was simply elegant, just like Jane.

Like her, it seemed as though Jane hadn't taken a good look at the gown in the dressing room. She looked stunned by her appearance in the mirror, just like the rest of the room had been when she had walked through it. There was a moment of almost magical silence as Jane and Beth realized how perfect this dress was for her.

"Jane, my darling, you look beautiful," their mother's voice broke their trance, bringing them back to the reality of the moment.

"Thanks, mom," Jane said, a smile spreading across her face, "I love it. I don't even know what to say. I think this it is - this is the one."

"Oh, are you sure dear?" Mrs. Bennet responded, her real opinion breaking through the momentary, superficial approval. "I mean, it's beautiful, but it's just so plain. Don't you want something with a little more sparkle to it?"

Beth rolled her eyes at her mother's not-so-subtle attempt to guilt Jane into choosing a style that _she_ wanted.

"Mom, it's Jane's choice," Beth couldn't help herself from stating, "I think it's perfect Jane; if you love it, then I say you go for it."

"Well, of course it's her choice," their mom retorted back, "I just think that Jane would look so much prettier in something with some beading or lace; I'm sure Charles would think so too, don't you agree Caroline?"

 _The nerve of her mother._ Beth clenched her jaw at her mom's outrageous question and the terribly awkward position she had just put Caroline in. Thankfully, if Caro had had no problem standing up to her own parents in the past, their mom should be a piece of cake.

"I do love a dress with embroidery and lace accents," Caro began, her words appeasing Mrs. Bennet, "however, I do see what Beth and Jane are saying, though. Jane is just so beautiful, and I actually think that the embellishments would detract from her natural beauty, rather than add to it. I'm sure you would agree with me, Mrs. Bennet, your Jane is just so beautiful, I'm not sure there is anything that would be able to enhance the genes that you gave her."

Disagreement clothed in compliments. _Nicely done._ Even though the flattery had been done in part to subvert their mother's insistence on something that wasn't Jane's style, it still brought a blush to the future bride's face and a muted thank you to her future sister-in-law.

"Oh, yes…" Mrs. Bennet agreed, looking at Jane as if she was seeing her in a whole new light. "That is an excellent point, Caroline. Excellent, indeed. Now if we were talking about Beth or even Lydia, I would insist but you are too right, my Jane is far too beautiful and I would hate for her dress to draw attention away from that."

"Thanks mom," Beth grumbled, the implication not lost on her. Thankfully, she was more concerned that her mother was no longer pressuring Jane, than she was about her veiled insults. Not to mention, after Caro's slip about her date, she didn't want to instigate any conversation that even remotely reminded her mother about her unfinished interrogation from earlier.

Jane gave her a sympathetic look, before turning back to look at herself in the mirror again.

"I mean, I really like it, mom," Jane began, self-consciously. "Are you sure you like it? Are you sure it looks good? That it's not too much?"

Always second guessing herself - _that was Jane._

Beth listened as her mom and her sister began a lengthy discussion about the dress and having it fitted. Her eyes watched them, her mind, however, drifted away to her personal turmoil. Her eyes blurred as the image of Jane turned into one of herself, trying on dresses. Had she accepted Darcy's proposal the first time around, this could have been her.

 _God, what was wrong with her._

He fucked up. Big time. _Again._ She shouldn't even be thinking about marrying him at a time like this. Why had he even done it? That's the part that she couldn't even fathom. She was just meeting her mom and sister and his best friend's sister, what could possibly have set him off about that?

"Whatcha thinking about there, Beth? You look like you're a million miles away," Caro said, jarring Beth from her distracted gaze.

 _Shit._ She must have been muttering to herself.

"Just work stuff," she muttered half-heartedly.

"Beth, I'm going to go with Jane to be measured and get this all sorted out," her mother interjected, implying that she was to wait there with Caro for them to be done.

"Ok," Beth said as she watched Jane and her mom - her social buffer - walk back to the dressing room.

"So what's on your mind? You look troubled," Caro persisted. "You know, we're going to basically be sisters in a few months time, you can tell me."

Beth laughed, "I appreciate that, just typical relationship stuff - nothing too crazy."

"No? You seem pretty preoccupied. Is it your date from the other night?"

 _Damn, Caroline is relentless._ And it's not like she could blow her off or walk away, this was going to be Jane's sister-in-law, she couldn't create that sort of awkwardness for Jane.

 _Just relax, Beth._

It wasn't Caroline's fault; _she was just trying to be nice._ Immediately, Beth felt guilty for being so closed off and guarded. Not only was Caro going to be family soon, but she was her client and had been nothing but nice and generous from the very beginning.

"Yeah. Just a new relationship, trying to navigate the ins and outs," Beth replied, still trying to keep the discussion at a general level, if for no other reason then delving into the details would probably bring her to tears in the middle of the Kleinfeld showroom.

 _Not quite what she wanted on the next episode of 'Say Yes to the Dress.'_

"Men are tricky that is for sure. Not that I'm an expert, I haven't been in a serious relationship for some time; being surrounded by Italian men isn't quite conducive to that type of situation," Caro joked, and Beth felt some of the tension of the conversation dissipate. "So, what did he do? Try to go too far, too fast?"

"Haha, not quite. I mean we've definitely gone very far, very fast, but that's not the problem. Neither of us have been in a relationship in a long time so it's just a struggle to figure out how to compromise."

"I see. Well, that is certainly a big struggle; I personally don't compromise well. Something that I've learned over the past few years of exploration, which is why I'm back in town myself," Caro revealed, almost as a taunt to Beth for her to question her further.

 _Anything to take her mind off of Darcy._

"Really? I thought you were back for your art career. Thinking about settling down as well?" Beth asked, playing along.

"Well, more like re-settling. I have an ex here who is really my other half, I just have to make him remember how good we were together." A very suggestive look accompanied Caro's admission, unfortunately Beth was too distracted by her own thoughts to pay much attention to it.

"Yeah?" Beth half-heartedly acknowledged, suggesting she continue her story - anything to take the attention off of Beth's own relationship issues.

It wasn't that Beth wasn't paying attention to Caro - she heard her, she really did, but it was almost as if she was just observing her conversation with Caroline, meanwhile, actually thinking about how to handle Darcy. She was trying to focus, but her heart wasn't cooperating. She heard what Caro was saying, but she wasn't listening to it. Instead, her _stupid feelings_ kept pushing her to explore the reasons for why Darcy had behaved as he did.

"Yes, our relationship was very tumultuous at first - _intensely_ passionate, though. We were together, I guess you could say, for a long time; we went through a lot. But then I left to pursue my own path, but our intention was always to end up back together," Caro continued.

 _Maybe he is upset about the wedding? Because I told him that I wouldn't marry him initially and now he feels like I've forced him into this living arrangement with no guarantee that we will end up married? But I told him yes, I told him I would marry him. He was the one that suggested this. Maybe he regrets it._

"Mmhmm," Beth murmured with a nod, trying her best to feign complete interest in whatever Caro was talking about now. "I'm sure whomever he is would be an idiot to not get back together with you," she continued, unsure of exactly what Caro had been saying, but knowing that her response made some sense.

"Oh, yes," a large smile spread over Caro's face, "the man was obsessed with me; there's no chance that you just get over that, even if there are a few obstacles in our way; but I'm working on those," Caro paused here and gave Beth a poignant look, which she took as Caro's attempt to emphasize that every relationship struggles but there's always a way through. "We had a relationship that just worked so well for the both of us, and I know that he knows that. Plus, the sex…. the man was a god," she concluded with a devilish wink at Beth.

As Caro continued, Beth really started to zone out. _Yes, every relationship has problems but what if one party doesn't want to make the attempt to fix them? What if he can't change this? Would she be forced to accept that this is what her life would be - accepting Darcy's controlling outbursts when they happened, for the chance at a life with him? God, she loved him, she did and he has been trying, but what if it's not enough? Could she bring herself to give him that control? Did she love him enough to do that?_

"Beth?" Caro's voice cut through her hopeless fog.

At the same moment, she felt her purse vibrating against her leg, startling her almost as much as Caroline had. With no clue what Caroline had just said, Beth pulled out her phone with an apologetic smile. Her face froze when she saw who the caller was, however.

 _Darcy._

Even if she wanted to answer it, now was not the place or time. Hitting the 'decline' button, she sent his call to voicemail.

"Your boy toy?" Caro prompted with a knowing smile.

"Ahh… no. Wrong number," Beth responded with hesitation, hoping that it came out convincingly.

She caught Caro's ' _I don't believe you_ ' smile before she looked back down at her phone to realize that it wasn't the first time Darcy had called her since she had run out. She had 10 missed calls and two text messages from him. Her heart skipped a beat, wondering what he had sent. She looked up to catch Caroline watching her intently, and for a brief moment, she again wondered why Caro was so interested in her relationship. That moment forgotten as Jane and her mother appeared again, effectively ending whatever conversation was about to ensue.

Beth hung back as Caro approached Jane, giving her a moment to read Darcy's text messages in peace.

 _Call me._

 _Please._

Beth let out a small laugh, drawing her a questioning look from her mom. The laugh concealed the fact that she was on the verge of breaking down into tears. 'Call me. Please.' _That's it? That's all he had to say? Ten phone calls and that's the best he could come up with?_ The worst part wasn't even what he had said, the worst part was that she wasn't surprised; it was _classic_ Mr. Intolerable. No apology, no begging for forgiveness, no expression of his emotions, his remorse, his love, his explanation. _Nothing._

Jane approached her just as a stray tear managed to escape.

"I'm so happy you found your dress, can you believe it?" Beth said, trying to disguise her heartbreak.

"I know, it's incredible! I thought we would just come for fun today, just to get the process started but it's true what they say, when you try on the right dress you know," Jane responded, but then mouthed, "Are you ok?" to her noiselessly.

Beth gave her a curt nod, but Jane knew that it meant 'no.' Beth watched as Jane turned to shield her from view and engaged both Caro and their mom in conversation, directing them towards the building exit. Having just those few solitary moments that Jane provided her was all Beth needed to temporarily put herself back together.

Once outside, her mother pulled her to the side, and Beth feared the worst - that she had remembered Caro's mention of a date from last night.

"Beth," Mrs. Bennet began in what she deemed as a whisper, "Caroline and I were speaking about Jane's bridal shower. You didn't tell me that she had offered to host it at her house!" _Shit._ "I guess Caroline has some show or something the following weekend. Anyway, I'm going to finish the invitations and send them out Monday. I assume that works for you?" she finished presumptuously.

"Wow, um sure, that should be fine. I don't think I have any events until Caro's show the following weekend, so just let me know what you want me to do." Beth replied, trying to get her frazzled brain to focus and think about her upcoming schedule.

"Wonderful. Ok, you figure out the details and help Caroline with whatever she needs. We'll chat soon. Love you," Mrs. Bennet quickly finished, giving Beth a kiss on the cheek before turning back to say her goodbyes to her eldest daughter and Caroline.

 _Well, that was a close call._

"Beth, I'll be in touch this week to finalize everything for the show next weekend," Caro said as she leaned in to hug Jane good-bye.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Ciao!"

Finally, it was just Jane and Beth that stood on the sidewalk, waiting for their Uber to arrive and take them to the apartment. The thought made Beth's heart clench painfully as she realized that she no longer thought of their apartment as _home._ No - for reasons too painful to think about, her idea of _home_ had taken on a whole new meaning, a meaning that involved a person more so than a place.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

As soon as the Uber driver closed the car door behind them, Beth's phone started to buzz again; she knew who to expect was the caller this time. Beth desperately tried to hit the 'decline call' button as tears clouded her vision. Now that she was alone with Jane, the mask that she had been fighting to maintain began to quickly crumble around her. _Guess she hadn't learned all that much from Mr. Intolerable after all._

Angrily wiping the tears from her face, she opened up the text messages from him to reply.

 _Please leave me alone._

She hit send before she could begin to second guess herself. Her phone buzzed back immediate with his reply.

 _I'm sorry. I love you._

So now he was sorry? _Now?_ Not hours ago? Not sorry enough to even leave a voicemail apology. She wished that saying you're 'sorry' just magically fixed everything, but it doesn't, and neither does 'I love you'. No, she needed some space, some time to cool off and decide what she was going to do, how much she was willing to compromise on.

 _I need some space. Please._

Her anger softened as she thought about how he was probably suffering, too; even though he deserved it, it still hurt her to know that he was hurting. Beth quickly turned her phone off.

 _God, I'm a mess._

She was so overwhelmed with all of her emotions, many of which conflicted with one another. She wiped her face again as the tears she wasn't able to control kept falling. She didn't even know where to start to tell Jane, who, God bless her, was just sitting quietly patient as Beth tried to figure out what to say.

They finally arrived at the apartment, making their way upstairs, Beth opened the door to what felt like a previous life. Just like her parents house, the apartment she had shared with Jane felt foreign to her; it no longer felt like her home. It wasn't that things inside it had changed, but things inside her had; specifically, the thing in her chest that felt like it was being crushed at the moment.

A wave of sadness crept over her, completely different from all her emotions tied up with Darcy. A sadness at feeling like a guest in what used to be her home. Beth froze a few steps into the apartment.

"Are you ok?" Jane asked from behind her.

Beth's throat was thick as she stared blankly at the two giant bouquets of what had to be fifty roses sitting on the kitchen counter. Unable to hold them back any longer, tears washed down her cheeks in torrents and a sob escaped her.

"Oh, hunny," Jane said, turning her around to hug and comfort her.

Jane slowly maneuvered her into the living room and onto the couch, holding her until the body-wracking sobs subsided. When Beth had finally calmed down enough to breathe steadily, Jane left her with the tissues to go make them some tea. Beth watched as Jane carefully moved the roses off the counter and out of sight for now.

 _How he knew she would be here and how he got them in here were the least of her concerns right now._

Returning with their tea and some Milano cookies to snack on, Jane sat next to her sister and waited patiently for Beth to open up to her.

"I'm so sorry, Jane," Beth began, "I feel like I've ruined such a special day for you." Her tears began to fall faster now, thinking about what a horrible sister she must me.

"Oh, Beth, how could you say that?" Jane exclaimed. "Of course you didn't ruin my day. You know these things don't mean that much to me, I'm just glad you could be there with me, but more importantly, that I can be here for you now. You're always the strong one, Beth, it's ok to be hurting; it's ok to unload on me. I can't even count how many times I've done the same to you over our lifetime."

"I know, I just…" She had to pause to blow her nose. "God, I'm a mess, Jane. I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm in over my head, like maybe I've made a mistake. I don't understand how people do this - be in a relationship with someone. What if I'm not cut out for it? What if Darcy and I aren't meant to be? Or what if we are and I'm just giving up too easily?" Beth rambled on, thought after thought, fear after fear.

"Woah, woah… just slow down for a minute. Take a deep breath and just tell me what happened and we'll go from there," Jane suggested softly, trying to prevent Beth from getting all worked up again.

Beth nodded shakily as she began to tell Jane what had happened earlier that day. As she spoke, she relived those moments leading up to her walking out on Darcy, trying to process every detail, every word that was said, trying to find some sort of clue or explanation for what had set him off.

Without getting into detail about how the woman had used Darcy's feelings for her to turn him into her sex-slave, Beth had to tell Jane about the emotional trauma he endured, being repetitively abandoned, and then, when she was there, always being forced to remain in a constant state of controlled performance. Beth could tell that she had shocked Jane even with the most basic facts about Darcy's past, even though Jane tried to hide it well.

"Oh my God, Beth, that is terrible," Jane murmured. "How could someone do that to another person, especially to someone that you are in a relationship with?"

Jane always saw the best, assumed the best of everyone; as much as Beth had been shocked about it when Darcy had told her, she know just how much more difficult it would be for Jane to comprehend that people actually hurt people in this way.

"Am I missing something, Jane?" Beth asked, redirecting her sister back to the present. "I know you only know the bare-bones of what's going on, but did I do something or say something that would put him on the offensive like that? What could I have done to flip that control switch on?"

"Well, you obviously didn't do anything intentionally, or even something outright that was just misinterpreted," Jane mused, "Could it have been one of us?"

"I don't see how he, or anyone, could have a problem with you which leaves either mom or Caro. I don't know that much about Caro but I've never heard him mention her, good or bad, even when Charles has brought her up on occasion. I mean, Charles is his best friend, I can't see him hating his best friend's sister and not saying something to me about it, especially when _you_ are marrying said best friend. I guess she is a remote possibility, but out of the two, I feel like mom is the more likely culprit…" Beth trailed off, considering the possibility. "What has mom done though? Aside from being herself…"

"True, I don't remember Charles ever saying that there was any animosity between his sister and Darcy, not that she's been around very much for the past several years. And mom, well, unless he thought that you might say something to her about the two of you? I don't know why that would matter. Ok, so maybe it wasn't us," Jane concluded. "Was he stressed about anything else unrelated? Maybe it was just an outlet, you know, how sometimes you get so stressed out about one thing and then something completely, normally harmless, happens and you react disproportionally."

"Well…" Beth started, biting her lip. _Shit._ With a deep sigh, she heaved into the events of the previous night, being forced to leave her event, only to find out that Darcy had run into his ex there.

"Oh dear, poor Darcy, " Jane whispered, as Beth finished explaining what had happened. "I mean, of course what he did was wrong, but do you think it could be because of the stress of seeing her again? Or of wondering what she might try to do to him or to you? I can't imagine coming face to face with someone who had abused me like that, fully expecting to never have to see them again."

"I didn't think about that," Beth began, "but we talked about it the night before, and that morning. I agreed to letting his security people follow me around and make sure that I'm ok." Her justification sounded weak even to her ears.

"I know, I'm just trying to look at it from his perspective because I understand yours; we just don't understand his," Jane said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Now, just because you talked about it and he said that he had a plan to keep everything under control, do you think that makes the stress of the situation go away? Think about a few months ago when you were stressed out about not knowing what was happening or was going to happen between you and Darcy. Even when you decided that there was nothing between you, after Darcy left with Charles, did that make your stress go away completely? Were you completely free of worrying about or thinking about Darcy while you were at work or at home? I mean, I saw you; I know that you weren't ok. Stress and fear make it easy to give in to our worst qualities."

"I guess, I didn't even think about that," Beth said in awe. It wasn't a pass for what he had done but she certainly hadn't stopped to consider the emotional stress he was under knowing that his abusive ex was not only back in town, but back with the express purpose of seeing him.

"I can't say for sure, Beth, but I'm just trying to think of it from his point of view. Of course you didn't do anything wrong, but I know how important you are to him. I know what he has done for you and just maybe, trying to internalize the stress of dealing with his ex, trying to be in control of the situation, snapped a little when the first thing that happens is the person he cares most about says that they have to leave - for a legitimate, harmless reason; however, if his first instinct is to protect you, and your first action is to want to leave his protection…" Jane trailed off, watching Beth's brow crease as she seriously considered the possibility.

"I really didn't even stop to consider that, my first thought was that we had already gone through a similar situation and we were just repeating the past," Beth acknowledged. "I know that we show love in different ways, I know that physical touch is important to him and that's how he knows how much I care. Every time that we argue or that something bad happens, it's always my response to him physically that comforts him, that shows him that I still love him and care about him. I think he's had too many people he cares about lie to him that that is the only way he knows how to truly gauge someone's feelings."

"So maybe him physically asking you to stay was him asking for a show of your love, to give him the peace of mind knowing that you are safe with him?"

"Maybe…" Beth mused. "I know for me it's not the same; because he has been so closed off, it's that quality time when he opens up to me, shares his life and his happiness and hurt with me, that shows me that he loves me. It's like we speak two different languages and as much as I might understand his actions now, I can't help but wonder if it's always going to be like this?"

"Oh, Beth," Jane consoled her, "I don't know for certain what will happen, but I know that you don't learn another language in a month or two. Even though you've immersed yourselves in each other's lives for the past few weeks, I don't think its been long enough to make that judgement call. You said yourself that you've seen him changing and based on what you've told me, even though you might not understand in the moment yet, you know, for the most part, why he does the things that he does. It just takes time."

Beth gave her sister a weak smile acquiescing her point. _Of course, Jane was right._ She felt the anger and hopelessness being to seep out of her.

"I know it can be frustrating, Beth, especially for you. You're a perfectionist and when you want something done a certain way, you make sure it happens. Unfortunately, people don't work like that. Change takes time; it takes patience."

"I know," Beth said, resigned.

 _It wasn't like he had tied her down this time. If she had forced him, she could have left._ What Jane had said, made her think. She knew how Darcy operated, she knew the types of gestures that he valued, that translated into expressions of love for him. He had been extremely angry and agitated and on edge last night after the confrontation with his ex, and even though they had talked, she saw the stress in his face this morning that he had tried to hide. Especially when she had given him a hard time about having his security follow her.

"He was trying to protect me the best way that he knows, by keeping me with him. I can see that now; I wish he could just say that though - if he could just ask me to stay because he is concerned. Not that I would have stayed but he could have come with me or something," Beth continued.

"I know, but I'm sure that as time passes you'll both learn to interpret each other's actions and words better and be able to show your love for each other in the way that the other person understands and appreciates best. For Darcy, he actions that speak louder than words, and he sees your love and concern for him in your physical connection and response."

"Now, I just have to make him understand that it's not the same for me. As much as our physical connection means to me, I still need that quality time and communication otherwise I feel like I'm locked out of his life." _Even though I know that he's let me in more than most, being his first physical connection in five years._ Beth didn't tell Jane that last part; certain details weren't hers to reveal.

"Are you ok?" Jane asked, recognizing how much Beth had calmed down since they first sat down.

"I mean, I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to you," Beth replied giving her sister a grateful smile. "I was just so overwhelmed earlier, with everything that happened last night and then trying to rush out to get to meet you guys on time, that when Darcy semi-forced me to stay, my mind just went to the worst possible explanation - that this is just how he is and will never change. Which is partially true, but it's not the whole story. I just spiraled and overreacted, but I'll be ok once I talk to him. We both just assume that the other understands what we are trying to communicate, but if we communicate in different ways, we are always going to run into problems. I think we just need to be patient and understanding of what the other person needs. Patience and compromise don't come naturally to us though," Beth ended with a small laugh.

"You will get there," Jane encouraged her, "I just don't want you to give up on something that you know is worth it, someone that you love, out of momentary frustrations and miscommunications."

"I know, thank you." Beth hugged her sister. "I love you. You are my voice of reason, what would I do without you?"

"That's what sisters are for. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there for me when Charles left. I know it's not the same and even though Charles and I communicate more similarly than you and Darcy, we still have disagreements; we still misinterpret each other's actions sometimes, but love is all about learning; learning about the other person, of course, but also learning about yourself, and what makes you feel loved."

Before Beth could respond, Jane heard her phone ringing in the kitchen and got up to see who was calling, leaving Beth alone for a moment to think about everything that Jane had said, vaguely overhearing Jane's part of the conversation.

 _"_ _Hey, I'm back at the apartment talking to Beth. What's up?"_

 _"_ _Oh, ok. Yeah, she is ok. I'll call you later."_

 _"_ _Ok. Love you too."_

"Who was that?" Beth asked as Jane came back into the living room.

"Charles."

"Oh, did Darcy call him?"

"Yeah," Jane responded hesitantly, "Well, kind of; he called Charles and then went over there while Charles called me. He's really worried about you; Charles said especially because your phone is turned off."

Beth gave her sister a wry smile. _Of course Darcy hadn't given up trying to talk to her._ Guilt washed over her, thinking of how he must feel, knowing that she didn't want to talk to him and then her phone going right to voicemail. He was already worried about her and she'd just added to his worry out of anger.

"I should go talk to him; he wasn't right in how he responded to me wanting to leave, but I wasn't considerate in my response to him either."

"If you are sure; you know you are welcome to stay here if you want," Jane offered.

"I know, but I want to fix this. Or try to at least," Beth admitted. She hated letting things go unresolved - part of her obsession with needing to know everything, including the outcome of this situation.

Beth turned her phone back on to see three more missed calls from Darcy and three text messages.

 _Of course. I want to talk, when you are ready._

 _Please let me know that you made it to your apartment safely._

 _Beth, are you ok?_

That's when he must have tried to call her again.

"Yeah, I have to go," Beth said, suddenly impatient with needing to see him. "Wait, where is he? Is he still with Charles?"

"I don't think so. Charles said Darcy was really agitated and just needed to be there while he called me, but then he was leaving. I'm assuming to head back to his apartment."

"Ok, I'm sorry to dump all of this on you and then run but I just, all of a sudden,…I just need to see him."

Beth began to grab her things, pausing in the kitchen to stare at the roses.

"Just leave them, you can come get them later if you want them," Jane assured her.

"Ok, thank you," Beth replied, hugging her sister tightly, "I'm sorry again. I let you know how things work out. Love you."

"Love you," Jane returned as she shut the door behind Beth.

 _Time to go home._


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Beth wasn't sure what to expect when she inserted her keycard and opened the apartment door, but she definitely wasn't expecting to see more flowers. The usual vase of blooms on the entrance table was missing, and she had a feeling that it might have been the victim of the loud crash that she had heard earlier. In its place were three vases filled with red and orange roses. She could hardly see into the rest of the apartment due to the volume of flowers blocking her view. Gently setting her stuff down by the door, she cautiously made her way around the table, unable to stop herself from quickly smelling some of the blooms.

Coming around the table, she saw Darcy standing in the living room, looking out the giant windows into the setting sun. He knew she was there, that it was her who entered the apartment, she could see it in his body language, but he waited for her to make the first move, for her to approach him.

She walked steadily towards that end of the apartment, watching him remain frozen by the window as she stopped just inside the bounds of the living room.

"Darcy," she murmured, his muscles going taunt at the soft caress of his name from her lips.

"Beth," his reply audibly strained, "I was worried about you."

She saw his jaw clench and she knew that it was taking every fiber of his being to not come to her and show her, _physically,_ just how worried he had been; and just how relieved he was that she had come back.

"I'm ok, I'm sorry that I worried you," she apologized.

"Don't…" he said, shaking his head, turning his gaze back to the cityscape outside the window, "you shouldn't have to fucking apologize to me, Beth. _Again._ "

Knowing how he operated made her next move easy; she wasn't going to break through his self-loathing with words. He needed a physical connection to her for her words to sink in. Walking up slowly behind him, she reached down, taking his fisted hand in hers, threading her fingers through his.

His reaction was immediate; his shoulders relaxed as he let out a deep sigh, running his free hand through his hair.

"You should hate me by now," he began.

"I could never…" she began, "I know why you did what you did."

At her admission, she felt the flex of tension in his muscles.

"You do?" he asked, his voice almost choked, as he turned to look at her, shock and dread emanating from his gaze as the color began to drain from his face.

"Yes, you were worried about me, after what happened last night," Beth began somewhat confused by his extreme response, but she forged on. "I know we talked about it but it was clearly a shock for you to see your ex again after so long. And, after what you've told me about her in the past and surmised yourself, I'm sure that if she is back for you, she will do whatever it takes to get you back."

She paused, Darcy's swallow and curt nod were the only response she received, but the color seemed to be returning to his face, so Beth continued.

"Anyway, I have no doubt that you have done everything, put in every precaution to keep her away from you and I, but, in spite of all of that, the simple fact that she got so close last night cannot be easy to forget. I could see how concerned you were for me this morning, insisting that I have protection and I'm sorry that I gave you such a hard time about it."

She squeezed his hand to emphasize her abject apology, watching as her heartfelt concern began to bring back his disgust of himself and his actions.

 _"_ _Fuck, I'm such an ass,"_ he muttered to himself.

"Please, don't. Just listen," she encouraged, moving to squeeze half of herself between him and the window so that he couldn't continue to look away from her anymore. "I know I'm a strong person; I know I can handle myself should I ever have to face this woman, but that's not the point and instead of focusing on what my protection meant for me, I should have seen what it meant for you. You were on edge from the night before - _we both were_ \- and no matter how much you tried to hide it, looking back, I see now how stressed you were about making sure that I would be safe and protected and instead of recognizing and respecting that concern, not only did I take your concern for me lightly and only think about how it would affect me, I turned around and decided to leave for the day before any of your measures were able to be implemented."

His hand went up to run through his hair, but she caught it mid-path and placed it on her cheek, turning slightly into his palm to kiss the pad of his thumb. Her small gesture elicited a hiss from his lips and, now that she was semi-flush against him, she could feel the hardness of his arousal against her hip.

"Beth, _fuck,_ that's not—" he began, but she interrupted him, placing a finger on his lips.

"Shh, just let me finish; I need to get it all out. I want you to know that I wasn't thinking about your feelings or your concerns when I acted. I was only thinking of myself and that's not how a relationship works. I should have included you in the plans to go meet Jane, even if just taking me and waiting for me would have given you peace of mind; there was a solution that would have worked for us, if I had taken a moment to think about this whole situation from your perspective instead of my own," Beth paused to take a deep inhale before moving on to the next, more difficult part of the conversation. "Now, I didn't say that means your response was justified. Why didn't you just ask me to stay? Why did you try physically coerce me?"

Her questions weren't accusatory; her tone was gentle, encouraging him to put words to the meaning of actions, not just blanket apologies.

"Because I'm a fucking brute, that's why," he responded with a harsh laugh, trying to look away from her, but her hand came up, preventing his face from turning from hers.

"Don't," Beth stopped him, "you know that's not the reason. Tell me why."

"I didn't want you to leave," his answer short, a shadow crossing over his face, almost as though he was purposely hiding the reason why.

"So why not ask me?" she prodded.

" _Because, I knew what your answer was going to be!_ " His admission came out harshly and louder than even he had expected. He sucked in another breath before continuing more calmly, "I don't know, Beth. You weren't thinking about what I said, about my concerns; you weren't thinking about me. I guess I thought if I could get through to you physically, you might change your mind."

This time he forced he head out of her hand to look away, his jaw clenching at the release of his words.

"So, instead of asking me to stay verbally, you asked me to stay physically," Beth began, waiting for him to confirm in agreement before continuing, "Your past has taught you that words don't mean much, that they can't be trusted; you've grown up, been conditioned, and rewarded for judging people and relationships - personal and business - based on the physical connection or vibe that you get."

Beth paused, waiting for her words to sink in, watching the intrigued expression come over his face as he began to process what she was implying.

"I won't disagree with that, but that's not the re—" Darcy was cut short again as Beth persistently continued with what she needed him to hear.

"After this afternoon, after talking to Jane, I can see it now. Every time something happens or we disagree or you are stressed, you need a physical connection to me; you need physical touch to reassure you that I'm there, that I'm ok, that I love you in spite of whatever is going on; words aren't enough. Just like you said, you felt like your words weren't enough to get through to me, just like my words of reassurance weren't enough for you. As much as what happened was you asking me to stay, it was also you asking me to show you that I do care about you, that I do think about you and your feelings, because I wasn't acting like I do."

"People lie; it's what they've always done and the people I've let close to me, save you and Charles, have only proven that beyond a reasonable doubt to me. Yes, I've built my life, my businesses, my relationships on my impression of people, my gut feeling about them, because I've learned the hard way what happens when you don't fucking trust your own instincts, but what does that matter, Beth? _God,"_ he cursed, pulling away from her completely, take a few steps toward the other window in the room. "What does it matter if my earlier actions had meaning, if that's what I was trying to get across? The fact is that I don't know how to fucking use words to communicate with you, I just molest you and hope that you get the message."

His disgust for himself broke her heart.

" _Stop!"_ she yelled angrily, "No, it's not ok, but it _is_ ok that we communicate differently. Yes, I need the words, the explanations, the quality time spent with you to make me feel loved but that doesn't mean that that is how you have to be too."

She walked over to him, putting herself directly in front of him, looping her arms around his neck, pulling her body flush against his.

"We _both_ need to understand how the other perceives love, not just assume that it's one way or another. When I push you to tell me things, whether it's simple stuff or hard stuff that you'd rather forget, or when I ask you to come with me to events, or just want to spend time with you, you need to understand that that is how I know that you love and value me, that it's not just me being nosey. And I," she paused here, unable to stop herself from kissing him lightly on the chin, "I need to understand that when something is going on and you are pushing for physical attention, that it is because you are looking to feel loved and acknowledged by me."

He groaned, closing his eyes and letting his forehead rest on hers.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you," he began, "I feel like a fucking monster when I do that, like I can't control myself, but I need you. It's the only way I know for fucking certain that you need me too."

"Shhh, it's ok. You aren't a monster; we both just need love in different ways. Realizing that, now, is going to make a difference, it's going to make things easier," Beth reassured him, knowing that it would take time for him to be fully convinced that he wasn't completely in the wrong for how he acted.

"I love you," he said simply, his eyes opening to lock onto her gaze.

He made no move to kiss her or draw her closer. In fact, Beth had to question if he had even breathed since he said the words; he had gone so still, completely eliminating any physical component to his endearment. Instead, he let the words stand alone for her to absorb, allowing them to sink in and warm her heart instead of doing so with a kiss, allowing them to comfort and embrace her instead of doing so with his arms, allowing them to love her the way that she needed.

Beth recognized the statement that his lack of action was making and she felt the tears gathering in her eyes at the small, simple gesture, letting her know that he had heard her, that he believed her that these revelations would make a difference.

"I love you, too" she said, her voice thick with emotion, and then, clasping his face, she leaned in and kissed him deeply, letting her mouth vouch for the verity of her words, letting her kiss love him the way that he needed.

It took less than a second for him to realize she was giving him the comfort that he needed before he relaxed and gave in to her kiss, groaning as her mouth opened to him, his tongue sweeping inside to toy with hers. Beth felt her back against the window as Darcy's arms crushed her to him, his mouth angling over hers for better access. Then his caresses slowed, his kiss deepened, as if, with eat lick, with each nip of his teeth, he was drinking in her forgiveness, her compassion, her love for him.

Beth followed his lead, letting their kisses turn slow and languorous. Her arms linked around his neck, she enjoying his caress, succumbing to the mind-numbing desire that permeated throughout her. Suddenly, she felt her legs lifted out from underneath her, her gasp breaking their kiss, as he carried her to the couch with a devious smile on his face. She bit her lip, returning his smile, as she closed the distance between their mouths again, resuming their kiss just as Darcy sat them down on the couch, her legs over his lap.

 _God, he was delicious._

Maybe it was because of the relief, the hopeful progress, of their conversation that had awakened her passion, but all Beth knew was that her body burned for him. She didn't know where it had come from; their kisses had been slow, unhurried, the physical seal of their commitment to each other, and yet somehow, over the past several minutes, her desire had built, silently and steady, to a searing ache at her core that was impatient for release.

Just at the moment when she realized how consumingly aroused she was, Darcy broke their kiss and pulled back to look at her.

She stared back, confused why he had stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked, impatiently, drawing a warm laugh from his lips.

"Nothing," he replied, smoothing back a stray strand of hair from her face, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "I just want to talk to you about your day, that's all."

 _Wait, what?_

She stared blankly back at him, her mind having to fight through her arousal to process what he had said.

 _He wants to talk? Now?!_

God, she was so aroused; she could feel that her leggings were soaked between her thigh, a sign hopefully hidden by her sweater dress. All she wanted was for him to be inside her already, taking her to oblivion like only he could; even though hers was partially hidden, his arousal was blatant through the fabric of his pants, so she knew that he wanted this too.

 _But he wants you to feel loved more._

 _Shit._

As much as Darcy wanted to fuck her right now, he had stopped and put his needs to the side, to try and give her the quality time talking with him that she said she valued so much.

"You want to talk now?" she couldn't help herself from asking on a laugh; there was no point in hiding how much wanted to _not_ be talking right now.

"Yes," he said firmly, with a smile.

"Are you sure?" she teased him, as she let one of her hands run down his chest towards his groin.

Catching her hand just before it reached his aching member, he said with a fake disapproving stare, "I am sure."

As much as she loved him for his attempt at restraint, she couldn't help the disappointed glance she gave him.

"Don't worry," he responded with a laugh, "I'm not going to let you get away with just talking…"

To emphasize his point, his hand released hers to travel up her inner thigh, stroking her core through her damp leggings. Beth moaned, trying to arch up against his fingers before he pulled them away. Her eyes opened and she saw his jaw clenching in self-restraint, desire burning hotly in his eyes.

 _This wasn't easy for him either._

"Tell me about your afternoon," he commanded, turning his gaze from hers as his hands went to work taking her boots off of her feet.

"It was good," Beth said, struggling to even remember what had happened this afternoon.

As soon as she stopped talking though, she noticed his hands had stopped their task.

"I, ahh, met Jane at Kleinfelds," she continued, sighing as he freed her feet from the confines of her boots and began to gently rub them.

Her eyes closed, enjoying the massage on her sore muscles that had begun to burn as soon as her shoes were removed; until he stopped, again, waiting for her to keep talking.

"I met Jane…and my mom…and Caroline," she continued, segmentally while her brain tried to focus on both the task of talking and the pleasure of Darcy's touch.

Her eyes had closed again and she missed the shadowed flicker of hatred cross his face at the mention of Caroline's name.

"Jane was already trying on dresses…when I got there," she paused on a swift inhale as Darcy's hands ran up her legs, coming to rest for a moment on the flatness of her belly before grabbing the waistband of her thong, slowly working it over her hips.

"Oh?" Darcy prompted her to continue, "What did you and your mom and Caroline do while you waited?" Her senses still overwhelmed from the mental and physical stimulation from Darcy, she missed the subtle harshness in his voice as he repeated Caroline's name.

"Talked about the event…last night." Beth moaned as he massaged her thighs followed by her calves, while slowly working her underwear off of her legs.

 _Now this kind of talking she was on board with right now._

"Caro wondered where I had gone…asked how I was feeling…asked about you." The mention of him caused Darcy's hands to freeze.

"What about me?"

This time Beth heard the tension in his voice, and opened her eyes before answering.

"Not _you_ , you. She asked about my date…she doesn't know it was you." Darcy visibly relaxed at her explanation, his fingers beginning to trace lazy circles up the silky softness of her legs.

 _She wanted him to go faster, to come closer, to touch her._ The need to feel him was so overwhelming, she forgot about his concerned look. Just when he almost reached the apex of her thighs, he stopped again, and her desire felt like it had run directly into a wall, literally knocking the air out of her.

"I can't control myself, if I keep going," Darcy admitted, "and I want to talk to you first; I want to put you first. Then…" His eyes darkened as he trailed off.

Beth watched his hands reappear out from underneath her dress, to clasp hers and hold them tightly.

"Tell me, how was Jane?" he continued, his eyes pleading to let him do this, not just for her, but for him.

With the interesting combination of grateful disappointment, Beth smiled at this man who tried judged himself so harshly for his actions, and then tried so incredibly, so consciously to make up for them.

 _Just think about Jane. You can do this._

Placing a mental barrier between herself and her desire, she poured her focus into what she would want to tell him about this afternoon.

"Well, at first, she was letting my mom influence…well, more like dictate what she was trying on, what she thought she should wear," Beth began, her eyes drifting to their interlocked fingers, rubbing his thumb with hers, "but, after the first dress, I went back into the dressing room with her and told her she needed to stand her ground. Wouldn't you know it, the next dress she put on was the one she fell in love with." Beth smiled at the recollection of her sister's happy face.

"So, she got her dress?"

"Yeah," she confirmed with a smile, "Charles is going to be blown away."

"I'm sure. I think he said something to that effect when I saw him earlier."

His allusion to his earlier quest to make sure that she was safe sent a wave of guilt over her, again.

"I should have asked you to come with me, even if you just dropped me off and then went to see Charles," Beth said again, regretfully.

"Don't, Beth. It's in the past. You are fine, you are here, that is all that matters," he said, bring her hand up to his mouth to kiss it.

"Do you really think your ex will try to do something to me? To us?"

"Yes." His definitive answer much different from the response he had given earlier. "I don't doubt that she will."

"It will be ok; we will be ok," she assured him.

"She doesn't like competition. That's why even Anne never knew about her; she threatened me that she would go to Mrs. DeBourgh and reveal how Anne and my's relationship was just a farce," Darcy revealed.

"Oh…" Beth responded. It wasn't that she didn't believe Darcy when he had told her what this woman was capable of, but to hear that she had actually threatened to do something so detrimental to Anne, a woman she didn't even know, shed new light onto her character.

"I should have said something earlier," Darcy said exasperated, "but, she is my goddamn problem and I thought that I could take care of it on my own. You shouldn't have to worry but," he paused on a sigh, "you also should have been made fully aware of what I am dealing with. Maybe if I had told you, today would have gone differently." The regret in his voice was unmistakeable.

"Maybe," she agreed, "but, you're telling me now and that's what is important. I can't believe that she would consider harming someone who was clearly an innocent bystander, just to keep everyone else except her excluded from your life." _What a selfish bitch._

"Yeah, well, if she will do that, I don't want to think about what she will do to you, the person she sees as having taken her place." The rage in his face, coupled with the fierce protectiveness of his gaze, made it clear that he was thinking about it.

 _That's it._

Beth wasn't going to let this woman take any more of their day away from them, any more of their time together away from them. Letting go of his hands, she steadied herself on the back of the couch, moving to straddle him, taking his face between her palms.

"We will be ok," she said fiercely, looking into his eyes, forcing his focus onto her and her alone.

Then she kissed him. _I love you. I trust you. We will be ok._ She didn't say the words, but he heard felt them as she poured every ounce of love and comfort into her kiss. She felt him resist for the briefest instant, before caving to his need for her, a need that ignited instantly and wildly, like a match into a pool of gasoline.

 _Yes. I need you._

This is what she needed, what she craved. She groaned as his succumbed to his desired, his mouth ravaging hers. His hands running up her thighs to grasp her naked hips, pulling her soaking core onto his straining erection, her hips instinctively moving, rubbing that impossibly sensitive part of her against the hard bulge in his pants. There was no time for either of them, they were both so on edge, desperately needing to be physically joined.

Her hands shook as she reached down between them to fumble with his belt buckle. Meanwhile, one of his hands slipped underneath her ass, pressing two fingers deeply inside her. Her hips jerked at the invasion of pleasure, her passage clenching around the poor substitute for his engorged penis.

" _God, Beth, you are so wet, so ready for me,"_ Darcy growled, as his fingers rubbed and massages the inside of her.

 _"_ _I need you inside me, please, I'm going to come,"_ she begged, finally unzipping his pants to free his erection.

The next moment, her hips were lifted up and immediately thrust down as he plunged completely inside of her heat. His shout overtook hers at the intense pleasure that shook them both. Her hips began to move frantically, up and down against him, the friction of their position massaging her clit to the point where Beth no longer knew what was happening, only that if she kept moving in this way it would bring her the release she needed.

Darcy's hands had moved to firmly grasp her hips, allowing him to hold her tightly as he thrust uncontrollably into her, hissing at the heat from her core burned his erection.

" _I need to feel you come around me,"_ were Darcy's strained words, his hands forcing her hips to still so that it was only him in control of entering her.

 _"_ _Please,"_ she begged, as he stilled his thrusts.

One hand still firmly holding her hip, his other moved to her clit, rubbing and teasing the silken, firm bud. Beth's hands clenched on his hard shoulders, tears had begun to slip from her eyes, she was so close to release. His fingers working frantically, he pulled almost completely out of her one last time before thrusting hard, his straining erection sliding perfectly into place, sheathing himself completely inside of her body with one stroke, as his fingers pulled on the center of her pleasure.

She screamed as stars exploded around her. She felt her walls clench relentlessly around his rock-hard member for a second or two before he couldn't hold on any longer. With a shout, his hips resumed their motion, desperately plunging inside of her one, two more times before she heard him yell her name and felt the warm rush of liquid inside her still-convulsing passage.

 _Dear God. Heaven._

She collapsed on top of him, their chests moving frantically trying to replenish their oxygen, both of them completely sated and drained. Minutes passed before Darcy gently lifted her off of him, rearranging her dress and his pants. He didn't get up though, pulling her close, he put his arm around her, letting her head rest on his shoulders. There they stayed and watched the sun set over the city.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Beth moved slowly into consciousness, surfacing from the pleasure-induced coma that she had drifted off into. She peered up to find Darcy's molten chocolate eyes staring back down at her; he'd been watching her sleep for some time. She blinked a few times, wondering when she had dozed off, the last thing she remembered was the red-orange sunset out the window; that must have been some time ago because the night sky was completely dark, only illuminated by the twinkling lights of the city skyline.

"I hope I didn't drool on you," she said groggily, looking back up at him.

He laughed and kissed her forehead.

"No, you weren't asleep for that long," he assured her.

"Oh, good," Beth replied as her stomach grumbled loudly.

"You have, however, been doing that for a few minutes now, so I think it's about time that I feed you."

"I'm too tired to eat," Beth protested, burying her forehead into the welcoming crook in his shoulder.

She felt him smile against her hair just before he began to move, pulling his arm out from behind her, standing up to adjust his pants.

"I'll go order us some food," he said, watching Beth as she dramatically collapsed fully down onto the couch, closing her eyes again. Darcy laughed, "You're going to eat something. I'll be back."

"Thanks for the warning," she mumbled as he walked out of the living room.

Distantly, she heard him in his office, on the phone with room service, before the urge to doze off again won her over.

"Time to eat, sleepyhead."

Beth heard Darcy's voice, drawing her out of her slumber, just as she began to smell the delicious scent of dinner being placed on the coffee table in front of her.

"What time is it?" she asked, moaning as she propped herself up on the couch.

"Almost nine."

"That's it?"

She felt like she had been sleeping all night, but her exhaustion made sense; she'd only dozed for a few hours, probably because of the emotional wreck of a day that she had had. Crossing her legs on the couch, she pulled a blanket over them, covering the opening in her dress since she wasn't quite sure where her underwear had ended up. She glanced around seeing if she could spot them, but the only thing she saw was Darcy's satisfied smirk before he asked,

"Looking for something?"

"Nope," she retorted, unwilling to give him that satisfaction.

He chuckled at her response and began to remove the lids off of the plates of food that he had sent up.

 _Holy pasta._

"Are we carb-loading for something?" Beth asked, jokingly, as she stared at the five different types of pasta sitting on the table in front of her.

"Well, you looked like you could use some calories. Have you even eaten at all today?"

Beth had to stop and think about it; she hadn't eaten before running out to meet Jane and then after her breakdown at the apartment, she had come right back here. So, no, she hadn't eaten all day. No wonder she was completely drained.

"No, I didn't get a chance," she replied quietly, knowing that her answer wasn't going to make Darcy happy, especially because he would blame himself.

She peered up at him from underneath her eyelids, watching frustration come over his face.

"So, did Charles say how the wedding plans were going?" Beth asked, trying to distract him, as she helped herself to heaping portions of both the Fettuccini Alfredo and Penne Vodka.

"Not really. Something about still trying to decide on a venue, but I wasn't paying that much attention to him."

"Oh interesting, Jane hasn't mentioned the venue yet. I'm glad she found her dress, though. Regardless of everything else that happened, I'm glad that I was there. Otherwise she probably would have wound up with something far too gaudy; you should have seen the things my mom picked out," Beth said with a laugh.

"Your mother does have interesting taste," Darcy replied, politely, before the two of them broke out laughing.

"Yeah, well, you just wait, before we left she was already insisting that I would need a dress covered in beading and lace to make up for my lack of natural beauty," Beth said wryly, stopping short as she realized that she had just alluded to _their_ wedding. _Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully._

Darcy caught the significant, too. Neither of them had mentioned marriage or even their engagement since the night of Charles and Jane's engagement party. Not that they both didn't believe that that was where their relationship was heading, but they were already moving so fast, with so many hurdles to overcome, that that discussion had been quietly tucked to the wayside. Beth caught him watching her intently, waiting to see what else she might say on the subject. Heat suffused in her cheeks as she continued to chew her bite of pasta, frantically trying to think of what to say.

 _There's been enough deep conversations for one day, Beth. Keep it light._

"You're gorgeous, Beth," Darcy said, looking at her intently, turning her cheeks an even deeper shade of red.

"Thank you," she murmured shyly, before continuing her story, "Well, Jane, obviously, does not need any of that fluff but, I swear, actually, if Caro hadn't been there, I'm not sure that my mom would have been convinced," Beth continued, looking over to catch Darcy's reaction as she redirected their conversation away from speculation about their future.

She saw his mouth thin as he took another bite of food. He didn't seem too affected. _No._ He seemed like he was trying to remain unaffected; she caught just a glimmer of unrest in him before continuing.

"I said that the more embellished dress just wasn't Jane's style, but it was Caro who played it off to my mom that it was actually taking away from Jane's natural beauty, which you know how my mother is so proud of that. So, that, combined with it coming from an outside source, _not_ me, is what saved Jane. Of course, a minute later my mom was totally on board that the simpler, classic dress is what Jane needed," Beth finished her story, laughing at how her mother could be so easily convinced by someone else, but if it had been Beth to suggest it, well there would have been a completely different outcome today, that is for sure.

"She is very good at manipulating people," Darcy said.

He tried to make it sound light, but there was an edge, a harshness in his tone that took Beth aback. It was as if he wanted to say more, to explain what his tone implied, but he held back. Before she could think of a response, a question to probe into what seemed to be a dislike of Caroline Bingley, he interrupted her thoughts.

"I want to take you somewhere."

Beth took a moment to register his statement.

"Ahh…right now? Where do you want do go?" Beth responded, slightly confused.

"No, I want to take you somewhere for a long weekend sometime in the next few weeks," he stated, shaking his head. "If that's ok with you," he added quickly at the end, realizing that he hadn't given her much of a choice.

"Well, Jane's bridal shower is the next weekend and I have a bunch of stuff to help prepare for that, and then the following weekend I have a work event," she answered. "I mean, you could always just escort me to another work gig."

 _Too soon, Beth. Too soon._

His eyes darted to hers, relief settling in them when he saw the twinkle in her eyes that her last statement was made in jest.

"When you check your work schedule this week, text me the date of your next free weekend, so I can plan something."

"Ok," Beth looked at him, eyes wide, "so, where are we going to go?"

"It's a surprise," he said with a playful smile on his face. "That is if you are available."

"I don't think it will be a problem."

 _A weekend away with Darcy, just the two of them._ Even though the details hadn't been nailed down, the thought alone set her stomach aflutter. Even though they were together here, there was work, and family, and friends so close that it seemed every time they tried to do something together, or spend the day together, something or someone got in the way.

"Great."

"How will I know what to bring if you don't tell me where we are going?" She couldn't help herself from asking, always trying to know everything.

He wasn't going to be fooled that easily though. "I'll let you know in advance what to bring, don't you worry."

"Fine," she huffed, playfully, picking up her plate to take it into the kitchen.

As she rinsed it off in the sink, she felt Darcy come up behind her, his arm snaking around her stomach to pull her back against him.

"Sometimes, being surprised can be fun, you know," he whispered in her ear, biting the soft skin of her earlobe.

"Mmm, we'll see about that. I'm going to get ready for bed." Setting her plate in the sink, she turned to kiss him before sliding out of his embrace and sauntering into the bedroom.

Beth sighed as she finally, climbed under the sheets, relaxing into the unbelievable softness of the mattress. Unlocking her phone, she decided to text Jane while waiting for Darcy to join her in bed.

 _Hey, thanks again for everything earlier. I think everything is going to be ok. :)_

She waited for Jane's response, fighting against her exhaustion to keep her eyes open. After a few minutes with no word from Jane, she gave up and plugged her phone in and laid it on the nightstand, not wanting to take the risk of dropping it on her face if she dozed off. Turning to Darcy's side, she waited, but her consciousness only lasted another before sleep overcame her. Vaguely she felt the bed dip and Darcy kiss her forehead later when he finally came to bed for the night.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

There was a bounce in her step and a smile on her face as Beth walked into her office Monday morning. Last weekend had been wonderful, hell, the week before had been wonderful. The weekend of Renée's party, that had gone from questionable, to worse, yet had somehow managed to end on a warm note, seemed like it had happened months ago even though it had only been a little over a week since. After her and Darcy had talked that day, everything between them started to click. Even though his ex-girlfriend was still out there, lurking in the background, they'd been too wrapped up and focused on each other that the woman hadn't even crossed Beth's mind.

 _Ok, not quite true._

He'd admitted last Monday that his ex had shown up at his office building requesting to see him, but the security staff in the lobby had told her that he wasn't working in that office right now; it was a lie, but he didn't want there to be a scene. Better to just insist that he wasn't there than to have an employee tell her she wasn't allowed to see him. After that, he'd been on edge, assuming she would try again to accost him in private. He'd begun using a different exit to the building and entrance to the hotel, more security personnel. When he came home from work each day Beth could see his stress dissolve the moment he closed the apartment door behind him, knowing that another day had passed where this woman hadn't tried to contact him.

She couldn't speak for his time at work, but once he got home, they'd decided not to let this woman steal any more time from them, refusing to talk about her, to worry about her, unless there was something to be worried about. The decision had worked out wonderfully. Instead they spent time talking about themselves and their favorite things, their childhood, their dreams, their relationship - about anything to bring them closer.

 _All the sex certainly brought them closer, too._

Beth blushed when the thought came unbidden to her mind, stirring up vivid memories of _those_ moments over the past week. This Monday morning though, she was in the office a half an hour earlier than usual - a half an hour earlier than everyone else, which meant she had the place to herself to get some serious work done. The place was peaceful, like the calm before the storm of the workday. She enjoyed the silence, letting her mind linger on those happy, _and arousing,_ moments of the past week, just for a moment while she settled in to her desk.

She hadn't planned on coming in to the office early, but Darcy had to be into work at eight, so he had woken up and made them breakfast. He tried to insist that she stay in bed for another forty-five minutes, but the deep, sated sleep that had engulfed her the night before, had her alert and energized for the day. Beth smiled, thinking about how natural their morning had felt - waking up together, getting ready for work as Darcy made breakfast, cleaning up while he got dressed for work… It was a stupid little thing, but when so many things in their relationship were a struggle, when there were so many situations where their instincts and desires were either misinterpreted or miscommunicated, _or both,_ the natural cohesiveness in their morning routine was a small, welcome reassurance that everything was going to be ok.

 _It's the little things…_

Opening up her computer, she eagerly clicked on her email to get a jump start on the day. Twenty-five new messages rolled in from over the weekend - some of them junk, others forwarded on to her assistants from clients that they were working with. One message was the guest list from Caro; Beth opened up her spreadsheet for the exhibition and copied over the names and addresses, saving the file and updating the recipient list in her mass email software. She shot Caroline back a quick response letting her know that the email invites would go out at eight AM tomorrow morning to let her know if there were any changes.

 _Shit._

She forgot to email her about Jane's shower. Opening another, blank message, she quickly apologized for the multiple contacts and let her know that she had talked to her mom, confirming everything for this coming Saturday for Jane's party. Beth let her know that the food and decorations were going to be delivered 2 hours before the party. Jane was expecting Caro to pick her up around that time to go look at wedding bands for Charles. While Caro took her to do that, Beth and her mom would set up and make sure all the guests had arrived, at which point, Caro would 'need to stop at her house really quick' on their way back from the jeweler, and 'SURPRISE!' Beth thanked her again for letting them use her house to maintain the element of surprise.

 _Done._

With a smile, Beth took a deep, satisfied breath for having sorted through all her email still before anyone had arrived. Just as the air had started to release from her lips, her computer dinged with another incoming email. She assumed it was a response from Caroline, but her breath caught in her throat when she saw the email address of the sender: darcysmine .

There was no subject and her hand trembled as she maneuvered the mouse to click on the message, hoping, praying that this was some sort of silly joke.

 _Hello, Beth._

 _I'm so glad we can speak openly. I tried to catch you on your way into work today, but I didn't feel like dealing with your little bodyguards. Nice sweater, by the way; royal blue was always Darcy's favorite color on me._

Beth felt the wind go completely out of her. _This woman had found her, stalked her, to her workplace._

 _I'm sure you're very busy so, I will make this quick. Darcy is mine; he has always been mine. Whatever cute little thing you have going on is nothing compared to the love that he has for me. You'll never be able to make him happy, I'm sure you can see that. I'd hate for something bad to happen to you or your family. Leave him or you'll see that Catherine DeBourgh is a saint compared to me._

 _The Future Mrs. Darcy_

Every word she read was a blow, crushing the air out of her lungs, but the last was like a knife to her heart. _Mrs. Darcy._ Had she ever even thought of herself in those terms? Yet, here was this woman, who hadn't seen him or wanted him in years, referring to herself as his future wife; her confidence in herself would have been laughable if Beth hadn't been so legitimately concerned about what this woman was capable of doing in order to achieve it.

 _Knock, knock._

Beth jumped out of her chair, slamming her computer shut as Phil walked into her office, a very perplexed look coming over his face at her ashen expression and erratic movement.

"Are you ok?" he asked, concerned, "I didn't mean to startle you. I wasn't sure if I heard someone in here or not, but the light was on."

"Yes, yes," Beth replied shakily, with a laugh.

 _She was definitely not ok._ Her heart was pounding out of her chest; she felt like she couldn't breath, even though she knew her breaths were coming out rapid and shallow.

"Sorry, I was working and I didn't hear you, or anyone, so you just scared me. I lost tract of what time it was," she continued, trying to allay Phil's concerns; she couldn't tell him what had happened

 _She barely had processed what had happened._

"Ok," he replied, seemingly convinced. "I'm glad to see you in the office early, that sounds like the old Beth is back. It's also nice not to be the only early bird in today after my vacation last week"

Beth just smiled at his assertion - _if he only knew._ He said it, though, more to convince himself that she was ok, than anything else; Phil had been out on vacation so he'd missed her high spirits and motivation last week.

"Anyway, I won't disturb you for long, but while I'm here I thought I'd ask how the party went the other weekend? "

"Ahh.. Good! Very good. I spoke to Renée afterwards and she was very happy with everything. It was a little bigger this year than previous years, but the Ritz handled everything really well. I think we should get a lot of good press about it today - just based on the few people I spoke with at the event and then some of the social news I saw trending over that weekend and last week," Beth responded, trying to maneuver through the maze of thoughts bombarding her, back to that Friday night.

"Wonderful," Phil said, "Renée actually sent me an email to tell me how great of a job that you did and what a pleasure it is to work with you every year. I meant to send it along but service was questionable on the resort and then I just forgot. I'll forward it along to you today though, but I just thought I would let you know."

"I would appreciate that; she's a really great client," Beth said, a smile breaking on her face. Even after Beth had to duck out of the party early, Renée hadn't mentioned any of that to Phil.

"Oh, before I forget, I also got an email last Friday from a 'Mr. Dempsey,' wanting to meet with you over the potential to plan and publicize some upcoming events for him. He requested you specifically, and he wouldn't give me any further details on the type of events. Do you know him or is this some sort of scam?" Phil said skeptically.

Beth laughed at Phil's sometimes lack of pop culture awareness. "Yes, he's a friend of Renée's. I see him every year at her party and he mentioned something to me about getting together."

"Oh, ok. Then I'll send his information along and you can reach out to him."

"Sounds good. Thanks."

"Ok, I'll let you get back to work," Phil said as he turned and left her office.

For a second, Beth just stood there. As soon as Phil left the room, it felt like he had taken all the air out of it with him. Her breathing became labored, her eyes unable to focus on anything as she cautiously sat back down in her chair.

 _Fear. Uncertainty. Hopelessness. Hurt._ Her emotions rolled over her like waves of a turbulent sea. Her head, her mind, barely able to keep above the water threatening to drown her.

In a fog, she heard her phone buzz, shakily picking up the device and opening the message.

 _You are incredible. Can't wait to see you later._

Darcy's text sent a rush of oxygen and clarity to her brain, pulling her out of her anxiety-induced paralysis. Beth set her phone back down; she couldn't respond to him now, she wouldn't know what to say.

 _Should she tell him?_

The thought came immediately unbidden to her mind. Of course she should, he needed to know. _But he's already so worried about you, what if he doesn't want you going in to work?_ He wouldn't do that. _No? Even if he doesn't, you know that's what he would want to do - he would want you to stay in his sight at all times._ Just because that's what he might want doesn't mean that he doesn't understand why that's not possible. _What kind of stressful torture are you going to put him through by insisting on not having these threats affect your life?_ True, but we shouldn't have to cater to his ex. _What is this woman really going to do? You have bodyguards. She can't hurt you. She can't force you to leave him._ But what about Jane and your parents? _What are you going to do, ask Darcy to give the whole family a bodyguard?_ No.

Beth buried her face in her hands, trying to drown out the internal argument that had begun inside her brain. On the one hand, she knew she should be honest with Darcy and tell him about the email and the threats. It wasn't like she wasn't always impressing on him how important honesty and openness were in a relationship if it was going to succeed. On the other hand, realistically, what else was he going to do? Aside from locking her in their bedroom and not letting her out of his sight. Telling him would only serve to make him feel more angry and helpless.

Not to mention, she didn't even know how he was planning on actually dealing with the problem - dealing with how to get this woman out of his life for good.

 _Not now, Beth._

 _God, what do I do?_

Hesitantly, she opened back up her computer to the offending email. Taking a deep breath, she looked over everything once again, more slowly this time. Her heart still jumped at the casual way the sender wrote - 'Nice sweater, by the way.' As if she was some sort of close friend of Beth's, complimenting her attire, and not a psycho-ex-girlfriend-stalker. It was NYC, and Beth had walked maybe fifteen steps from the car that Darcy had insisted take her to work, into her building. She had to have been so close to her, to have been able to see what she was wearing, to notice the two men who had gotten out of the car with her and were currently instructed to wait in the lobby of her building until she was ready to leave. The thought sent shivers up Beth's spine.

 _What a crazy bitch;_ that's it, that's how she is going to refer to this woman from now on because that's what she is - a Crazy Bitch, or CB, for short.

Beth kept reading. '…nothing compared to the love that he has for me.' Darcy must have really loved her, she knew that, in order to stay with such a person for so long. Beth bit her lip, _what if she was right? What if Beth could never make him that happy?_ Yeah, this past week had been great, but would that keep up in the long-term? In the past, all they seemed to do was argue or run into problems and even though Darcy's relationship with _Crazy Bitch_ had been traumatic, he never said that they fought all the time.

 _Yeah, because she just controlled his every move, because she trained him to respond exactly how she wanted. That's not a relationship, Beth, it's glorified servitude._

She finished rereading the rest of the email; the not-so-subtle threats she had expected however, the reference to Mrs. DeBourgh and allusion to what had happened between them unnerved her even more. _How did she know about all of this?_ Anne doesn't know who she is, so that can't be the connection. _Maybe she knows Mrs. DeBourgh from somewhere else._ That wouldn't make sense either because Mrs. DeBourgh wants Darcy to marry Anne, if she came after Beth, she definitely would have come after CB.

 _Ugh._ Somehow, this woman was close to someone, someone who knew what had happened not only with Mrs. DeBourgh, but also someone that knew that her and Darcy were a couple. Either that or CB was very talented at hacking and/or stalking - _which was a definite possibility after this morning._

Beth shook her head, all of the possibilities, the unknowns, the doubts had created a steady pounding in her temples. And after everything, she still couldn't decide if she should tell Darcy about the email or not.

Picking up her phone, she opened a new message to Jane, asking her if she had a minute to talk. Just as she hit send, she heard a small knock, her eyes jolted to the door to her office, her heartbeat picking up the pace. It was like every moment she was expecting this _Crazy-_ stalker- _Bitch_ to walk into her office and confront her. _Don't be ridiculous, Beth. She just emailed you, she's not going to attempt to come into your office to see you._

"Come in," Beth said, the shakiness in her voice hopefully muffled by the barrier of the door.

The door opened, and one of her assistants, Alaina, peered in. Beth slowly releasing the deep breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

"Morning, Beth, sorry to bother you. I just wondered if you would have time to meet this morning to go over my event this past weekend with me. I just want to make sure I have everything in order before I start sending out these press releases."

"Of course, I can come now if you want," Beth offered, welcoming the concrete distraction from her dilemma for a few minutes.

"Um, well, that would be fine, but I also wanted to let you know that Caroline Bingley is here to see you. She said if you are busy she can come back…" Alaina trailed off.


	18. Chapter 18

** Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and comments. I _know_ what you are waiting for and I promise Beth will find out soon enough along with all of the appropriate reasons and explanations, so hang tight guys and enjoy the ride! :) **

Chapter 18

 _Ugh, she really didn't feel like dealing with a client right now; she felt so distracted._

"Sure. Of course I can see her now. Send her in and then when I'm done I'll check in with you about last weekend," Beth replied with a forced smile; the weight of their future familial connection guilting her for the thought of putting Caro off.

 _God, hopefully Caro doesn't start giving her relationship advice again,_ Beth couldn't help but thinking as Jane's future sister-in-law, sort-of, walked into the room.

"Good morning," Beth greeted her with a smile, standing to come her desk and give her a hug.

"Good morning, Beth. Oh, I just love your sweater," Caro said as she returned Beth's hug.

 _Yeah, you're not the only one,_ Beth thought, unable to see the cold, knowing smile that crossed Caro's face before she pulled back from their embrace.

"Thank you. You look lovely today, too," Beth returned the compliment.

Caro always looked amazing. Today, wearing wide-leg, high waist pants and a loose, silk blouse, with a deep V since she had left most of the buttons undone. Her hair pulled back harshly into a ponytail again. Everything she had on was black, as if she was headed to someone's funeral.

"I wish I had your wardrobe, although I don't think I can pull off black as well as you do!" Beth laughed as she returned to her desk. "So what's up? I emailed you this morning about guests and such."

"Yes, I saw, but I was in the area so I figured instead of emailing you back I would just stop in and see how you were doing this morning and go over some of the details in person."

"Of course," Beth replied pleasantly. "Have a seat while I pull up the email I sent over to you earlier."

Out of the corner of her eye, Beth watched as Caro took the seat across from her desk. Most people would normally sit and start to look around her office while they waited but Caro, her eyes were trained on Beth, on her face. It was like she was waiting for her to do or say something, to show something.

"Ok, here we go. So I just sent over a note to let you know that invites are going out tomorrow."

"Yes, I saw that. Where do we stand with everything else?"

"I have a meeting with the caterer and decorator this afternoon to finalize what we've discussed so I'll be able to send over a total price for all that sometime either later this afternoon or tomorrow morning."

"Great, I'm glad things are moving along so smoothly. I'm anxious for the exhibition to be here already," Caro said, even though her voice sounded more distracted than excited. "So, your mom has been keeping me updated with responses to invites for Jane's shower…"

"Yeah, she's kind of crazy like that, probably because I don't respond to her messaged about them. I'm actually going to confirm with the decorator and caterer this afternoon about her shower, as well, after I talk to them about your event. So, I'll get all of that squared away, then it will just be a matter of getting her there without her knowing, but I think we've come up with a great plan," Beth.

"Yes! I'm glad we decided against having Charles bring her; he can be too much of a pushover and he might let something slip," Caro began with a roll of her eyes, "I just spoke with Jane today, though, about where she wants to 'go to look at wedding bands for Charles.' I did legitimately as him for his ring size too, this way she can actually accomplish something during this ruse. I figured that it would be best to just ask her as a spur-of-the-moment type of thing on our way back if she wouldn't mind stopping at my house to look at some of the pieces for my show. I don't want to ask her sooner and give her the opportunity to say no or have something come up, not that Jane would do that, but she _definitely_ won't turn me down if I ask her in person."

"Yeah, I agree. Not that she would turn you down anyway, but she won't refuse if you ask her to stop in on your way home really quickly."

"Great. So then you and your mom will hold down the fort at my house while the guests arrive and then I'll let you know when I'm about to leave with Jane."

"Perfect!" Beth said with a smile. She did feel relieved that this party seemed to be coming together pretty easily; it was one less thing for her to stress over.

"So, how is everything going with your boyfriend? Did you work everything out?" Caro asked, pinning Beth with her inquisitive stare.

Beth gaped at her for a second; the sudden change of topic throwing her off-guard and then back into the anxious mindset that she'd managed to close off for a few minutes.

"I, umm, yeah…" she began, "Yeah, sorry. We worked everything out." She gave Caro her best confidently satisfied smile, hoping that it would deter further questioning so Beth could avoid being outright evasive or rude.

"Oh, good, you seemed so distressed the other weekend and I haven't had a chance to follow up with you…" Caro returned her smile with one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's hard when there are so many outside obstacles that cause problems…" Caro trailed off, waiting for Beth to elaborate further.

"Yeah," Beth agreed, truthfully, "but, thankfully, we worked through the problem, for the better."

"I'm glad to hear it," Caro said, her voice suspiciously hollow.

Beth didn't say anything back, assuming Caro would take the hint and let her get on with her work day.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to bother you. It's just been a little lonely since I moved back. Most of my friends have gone their separate ways since I left so I'm just starting to realize how few people I know here anymore," Caro explained.

 _Nice, Beth._ Why hadn't she thought of that? No wonder Caro was being nosy, she was trying to ingratiate herself in with Jane's family because she's lived out of the country for what, five—six years now? Of course her friends from before have moved away or moved on with their lives. _She's just trying to become your friend and you're trying to get rid of her - way to go._

Beth shook her head, "I'm sorry, Caro. I completely understand. I'm just super distracted with work this morning; my team had events this past weekend so I'm trying to get up to speed on everything that happened," Beth apologized with an excuse that was reasonable and at least partially true.

Just because Caroline's inquisitiveness made more sense now didn't mean Beth felt comfortable opening up to her completely yet. _Hell, she could barely bring herself to talk to Jane about her problems with Darcy…_

"Of course, I didn't even think. Well, I'll let you get back to it," Caro said as she stood up to say goodbye.

"Thank you. Maybe you, Jane, and I can get together for a girls night at some point over the next coming weeks?" Beth suggested as she stood to walk Caro to her door.

"That would be great. Thanks for everything. Keep me posted on the vendors and anything else you might need for the shower."

Beth nodded with a smile as she held the door open for Caroline.

"Have a good rest of your day, we'll talk soon," Caro said as she walked through the door, a dark smile spreading over her face as she walked down the hallway away from Beth, the woman she was going to ruin.

Closing the door behind Caro, Beth took a few deeps breaths as she sat back down at her desk. _Damn,_ she'd just made it back into work mode and then Caro had to go and bring up Darcy. Now, her brain was circling around her dilemma again. Picking up her phone, she saw that Jane responded to her twenty minutes ago that she was free to talk.

 _You know Jane is just going to say that you have to tell him; she's not going to be able to fully understand how much CB being back has already messed with him._

No, she couldn't ask Jane about this now. She needed more information. Maybe, now that CB saw that she was guarded she would leave her alone. _Unlikely._ Ok, well, she needed to talk to Darcy first and find out what he was doing about the situation. Maybe he was going to have CB arrested - _you wish -_ and there's no need to worry him over an email at this point.

 _Ok, watch and wait._

With her plan of action in place, she responded to Jane saying never mind. Remembering she still had to respond to Darcy from earlier, she texted him back.

 _Crazy morning, can't wait to see you._

Not a total lie.

 _I'll pick you up at work tonight. I made us dinner reservations._

 _Great!_

No matter what was going on, he was still able to put a smile on her face and butterflies in her stomach; all her anxious thoughts leaving her mind, replaced with only her desire for him.

Setting her phone down, calmer with this temporary solution in place and warmed with the anticipation of seeing _her_ Darcy tonight, she got up to go check in with Alaina about how everything had gone over the weekend.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

She hadn't been watching the clock all day. Well, that's what Beth kept telling herself, and it was partially true; she hadn't been watching the clock hanging on her office wall. She had, however, been watching the clock on her computer all day, counting down the minutes until six o'clock.

The day had gone by quickly, just not fast enough for Beth's liking. She had met with both of her assistants this morning about their events from over the weekend; she'd been pleased with the results in spite of a few minor hiccups, but nothing that would give their clients any bad press, so overall a success. She ate lunch in her office, jotting down some ideas for Jane's shower to go over with her vendors in the afternoon.

First, she met with the caterer, Lori, about Caroline's event. They'd reviewed the final food choices that went with the theme and overall feel of the art — a farm-to-table style, all natural, selection of finger foods, including very rustic cured meats and cheese, raw veggies, and then the "naked" cake, as her and Caro had previously discussed. Switching gears to Jane's shower, Beth had come up with a British tea party vibe - finger sandwiches, exotic teas, pastries, etc. It was going to be an afternoon/lunch event so Beth didn't want anything very heavy or sit-down meal; Jane did not like to be the center of attention, so keeping everything as an informal, tea party social would help Jane feel more at ease.

Beth called her mom halfway through the conversation to confirm her selections, not because she really wanted to, but because she knew that if she didn't consult her, her mom would be upset with what the outcome was. _It didn't hurt that she may have told her mom the tea party was all Caro's idea…_

From that point, it was smooth sailing. She finished up with the Lori just as the decorator, Marc, arrived, throwing her right into another meeting with no time to dwell on each passing minute.

Marc already knew what she was thinking for Caro's event. They'd emailed back and forth last week nailing down some ideas. He gave her a list of the flowers he recommended that they use and the price breakdown so that she could get final numbers to Caro. Everything had come within her budget, so Beth told him to move forward with the preparations. Bringing up her sister's shower, she asked him what he would recommend; nothing too crazy, she didn't want to completely take over Caro's house with the stuff. Thankfully, he was able to give her some great ideas, like arranging English roses in tea pots or tea cups as decor that could be placed anywhere. Beth noted down his ideas and flower recommendations, putting it on her list to call the Flower Shoppe tomorrow and order the blooms, as well as have her mom go out and pick up the cups to place them in.

When Marc left, Beth slumped into her desk chair, exhausted from what felt like an endless day of meetings, giving directions to everyone; ironically, it was she who was left at the end of the day still unsure of which direction to go in with the email threat that she had received. She groaned as she looked at the clock on her laptop, it was still only five-thirty. Reluctantly opening up her email for the last time today, she breathed a sigh of relief that there was only one message for her to handle - the email from Patrick that Phil had forwarded to her earlier this morning.

Beth smiled as she read Patricks request for her services, obviously knowing that this email would be sent along to her. She clicked to open a new email to Patrick only and began to type her response when there was a small knock on her door - _probably her assistants leaving for the day._

"Come in," she said.

The door opened, a bouquet of red roses entering the room just before Darcy did.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," he said, his deep voice reverberating through the room and straight into her core.

Her eyes jerked up from her screen, realizing who has just walked in. His gaze was smoldering, and her sharp intake of breath an acknowledgement of the instantaneous desire between them. Before she could stand up to greet him, he walked over, setting the flowers on her desk, and leaned down to capture her mouth with his.

She immediately melted into him, his kiss pulling out of her every stress and worry that had built up throughout the day. In that moment, Beth gave herself completely over to her desire, welcoming the all-consuming fire that burned away every other thought and feeling from her body. Her mouth opened to his exploring tongue, teasing hers into a frenzy as her arms came up to wind around his neck pulling him closer onto her.

Beth whimpered when she felt Darcy draw back from their embrace, the comforting warmth seeping out of her as the reminders of reality began to creep back in; the intoxicating seclusion of his kiss gone. Not wanting to let go of the safety she felt in his embrace, she kept her arms linked tightly behind his neck and her eyes shut, willing him to continue.

"We have to get going or we're going to be late for our reservation," he said softly, tenderly kissing her lips and then forehead.

"Do we have to?" she begged even though she let her arms fall to her sides, opening her eyes to meet his gaze.

"Trust me," he growled, "there is nothing more I want to do than have you on this desk right now."

Beth saw it happening before she could think to do anything to stop it. Darcy glanced over at her computer, as he referenced her desk, his eye unmistakably catching the open email to Patrick that she had begun. He didn't linger, but the moment was broken. She saw his jaw flex as he stood up swiftly, taking a step back from her chair.

"I see that I've interrupted you in the middle of something," he said curtly, the warmth in his voice and demeanor gone, tamped down by the wave of jealousy that had come over him. "I can wait down in the lobby for you."

 _Shit._

"No, it's ok! I'm just finishing up some work emails, I'll just be a minute, if you want to wait here," Beth replied quickly, not wanting him to go.

His response was only a curt nod as he turned to pace her office. She sighed, turning back to her computer. Patrick was a friend, barely, and she was only emailing him about work related things but, as much as she just wanted to blurt that out to Darcy, to reassure him, if he had a problem, he needed to be the one to say something; like with everything else that they had gone through, _he needed to learn to be open with her if this was ever going to work._

Keeping herself aware of his movements in her periphery, she continued her email to Pat, the beginning of which had only contained a greeting and her gratefulness that he had thought of her and Gardiner to contact for his publicity needs - hardly anything incriminating or to be concerned about, _but that was Darcy._

 _Hey Pat,_

 _Thanks so much for reaching out to Gardiner, and me, for help with your publicity needs. I apologize for the other night, there was a lot going on at the party, and personally. I have to say that I'm surprised that you've finally emailed me after all of these years of saying how much you need my help!_

Her face was on fire. She glanced up to see Darcy glaring at her, only then realizing that a smile had crept over her face as she had written that last sentence in jest. Unfortunately, Darcy didn't know that.

"Almost done," she said, meekly. _One thing at a time…_

 _If you want to shoot me over some details on what you were thinking, I can get things rolling for you. I look forward to working with you and again, I'm so sorry about the other night. Chat soon,_

 _Beth_

She hit send and closed her laptop, quickly packing up her things, keenly aware that Darcy was still watching her intently, trying to decide if he should say something or not. When she rounded her desk, Darcy turned and moved toward the door.

"Darcy," she said, causing him to stop and turn back towards her.

She closed the distance between them, putting her hand on the door to stop him from opening it.

"Is everything ok?" she asked.

 _It was as close as she was willing to come to address his obvious jealousy._

Staring him down, she dared him to answer her. She saw his struggle play across his face - the desire to know about the extent of her and Pat's relationship clashing with his predisposition to conceal his feelings and show no sign of weakness. Leaning up, she kissed him tenderly, hoping to coax the words out of him. As her lips touched his, she felt the tension begin to drain out of him.

"What's going on between you and Patrick?" he asked bluntly, if not a bit harshly.

Grabbing his hand, she locked onto his gaze as she spoke her answer.

"Patrick is just a friend." Her first words chosen carefully in an attempt to immediately allay his fears. "I only see him every year at Renée's party, which is usually a smaller affair, so I've gotten to know most of her close friends pretty well. Usually, I see him once a year and we just catch up on life or whatever is going on in the world at the moment, but he mentioned to me this year, before we left, that he is looking to host some charity events, I think, and said he would be contacting me for professional help."

As she spoke, she could see the anxiety leaving his expression.

"He contacted Phil earlier today, and Phil just forwarded me his email, so I wanted to reply to get the ball rolling."

"I see," was Darcy's gruff response. Oh, he believed her, it wasn't that. It's just that now, knowing there was nothing special going on, he felt like an idiot for wondering.

Placing her hand on his cheek, she leaned up again, whispering, "I'm glad that you asked me, but there is nothing to worry about" just before kissing him again.

"Thank you," he said hoarsely, as Beth broke the kiss and turned to open the door.

There really was nothing for him to worry about, although, she had an inkling that Pat had only contacted this year - after all of the years of _saying_ that he was going to - because of what had happened the other weekend between her and Darcy. Even though she had responded to his several texts over the past week that everything was fine, that she was ok, Pat was an incredibly caring person, and she had a feeling that he was using this as a legitimate way to make sure that she was really ok.

There was no proof of that though, so she kept her suspicions to herself for now, relishing in the small victory she had just won. As they walked outside her office to the black car waiting to take them to the restaurant, Beth shivered as she remembered how just a few hours ago, she was walking into this building unknowingly being stalked by the CB. She glanced quickly around them, a wave of nausea rolling over her at the hunch that someone was watching them. _No, Beth, don't be ridiculous. It's probably just your nerves,_ she tried to reassure herself as they got into the car. It didn't stop her, though, from peering out the darkly tinted windows to try to spot someone hiding in the shadows. For a second she thought she saw something move by the corner of the building, but it was all shadowed and they were pulling away from the curb; _it was probably just her imagination._

Beth stared in awe out of the restaurant windows. Even higher than Darcy's apartment, the View, the rotating restaurant in the Marriott, gave her an unencumbered panorama of the city at dusk.

She'd heard about the restaurant before, but had never been, assuming it would be too touristy to enjoy, but boy, was she wrong. Tourists or not, nothing detracted from such a beautiful view of the city.

"This view is incredibly, Darcy," her voice a little breathless, unable to take her eyes away from the window.

"It certainly is," he agreed, except he wasn't looking out the window, he was looking at her.

Beth felt his gaze, a blush stealing to her cheeks, before she finally turned away from the window to pick up the glass of white wine he had ordered for him and take a sip.

"Have you been here before?" she asked.

"Not recently, no."

She wondered immediately if he had come here with _her,_ the CB. _Why do you have to go there, Beth?_

"I brought Georgie here once for her birthday," he clarified, his eyes catching hers reassuringly.

 _Good job, Beth. You clearly don't have a good poker face._

She returned him a smile as the waiter came to take their orders. They both ordered the filet special that had come highly recommended.

"Can I ask you something?" Beth asked, biting her lip nervously. She didn't want to bring up a sore subject, but the CB was becoming a bigger problem than Darcy knew about and Beth needed some answers.

"Of course," he replied.

"What are you going to do? About your ex, I mean?" she asked, bracing herself for his reaction.

She saw his face harden, like she expected it would. This was not something he wanted to talk to her about because he didn't want her to worry; it was his problem, his to handle.

"I know you said you were going to increase security, but how are you going to get her to leave you, leave us, alone?" Beth pressed on.

"I need to know what she wants," he began, his voice clipped. "I'm looking into the legal options, but she hasn't threatened me, or you, so I'm told that as of right now, a restraining order isn't an option, even if I was going to consider that route."

"But if she did threaten you, or me, you would get the restraining order?" Beth asked, clarifying his answer.

"I, _fuck,_ I don't know but, it would at least be a viable option if she did."

He stopped to take a sip of his wine, taking the moment to calm himself, annoyed that his irritation had escaped him in such a public place.

Meanwhile, Beth considered the fact that she had the physical proof Darcy needed to keep this woman away from them, but what if she told him, gave him the email, and he still didn't use it? Deep down, the only thought that latched on and tormented her was, _what if he won't get the restraining order because a part of him still loves her, in spite of everything?_ She didn't want to believe it, but her mind wouldn't let it go.

"In the meantime, I've hired some people to find her, follow her, try and figure out what it is she is after. God, I just fucking hope that this was just one of her little amusing mind games and she'll be distracted with something — someone else soon; that's usually how she operates," he continued.

"You said that you were pretty sure that she is back for you, though?" Beth asked, remembering how he had portrayed their encounter the other night.

He held his response as the waiter served their dinners, and asked them each to cut into their steaks to make sure they were cooked to the right temperature.

"Who knows, Beth," he said with a harsh laugh, once their server was outside of hearing distance, "even if that's what she alluded to, who actually fucking knows. She told me she wanted me six years ago, and then left the following day with some other guy that she had been fucking. I highly doubt she wants me, she just wants me to be preoccupied with her. This is all a game to her; all she really wants is power, control, and to make me feel like I have none."

 _I'm not so sure about that,_ Beth thought as she took another bite of her delicious steak.

"But if she doesn't let go, if she continues to pursue you, if she threatens you, or me, you 'don't know' if you would get a restraining order?" She couldn't let it go.

"No," he responded shortly, his tone indicating that that was all he was going to say on the matter.

 _Too bad._

"I don't understand, why wouldn't you pursue legal recourse? You would just let her threaten you or me, or our families, with no consequence? Why?" Beth persisted.

"Because… _fuck._ It's complicated, Beth. I can't…I can't explain it to you right now, just trust me, please; the repercussions would not be to her alone."

 _Oh, no? Would they be to him, too? Because he still loves her?_

 _No, shut up, Beth._

She set her fork down and took another sip of wine. The thought wouldn't leave her alone, causing her doubts and uncertainties about their relationship to take hold of her emotions, leaving her feeling nauseous.

"I'm sorry, I can't understand. So, you're saying that you're basically just going to watch and wait and hope she gets bored and leaves you alone. Oh, and if she does do something, you're just going to let her get away with it because it's too complicated to put a stop to?" she asked, heatedly, recoiling slightly from the surprising vehemence in her tone.

His gaze would have broken a weaker man; the anger burning in his eyes at her accusations and questions was palpable. Beth swallowed hard, but she couldn't have stopped the words from tumbling out even if she had wanted to.

"What about protecting yourself and someone you love is complicated? Unless, it's only complicated because you still love her." Her voice broke on her last words, unable to control the torrent of emotions inside of her. She barely saw his eyes widen in shock at what she had said before it was too much to handle. "Excuse me, I need to go to the ladies room," she said thickly, willing ever fiber in her being to hold in her emotions for just a few seconds longer as she tried to rush inconspicuously from the table.

The tears of hurt and anger broke through her defenses just as she pushed open the door to the ladies room, locking it behind her. Even though she let the tears fall, she was unwilling to let herself fall apart.

It was everything that had happened today coming to a head, she knew that. The stalking, the threats, Darcy's apparent willingness to let things go unchecked, but mostly the seeds of doubt that all of these things had sown had overpowered her and she had lashed out.

There was a knock on the door. Quickly wiping her eyes dry, she took a deep breath, preparing to go back out to the table and finish what she had started. Walking over to the door, she had no sooner opened it than Darcy pushed inside, locking it behind him. She gaped at him as he stalked towards her, backing her up against the wall. His hand came up to grasp her chin, capturing her gaze with his.

 _Boy, she was in for it now._ After what she had said to him, what she had implied, her breath caught, waiting for the hammer to fall.

"Beth Bennet, I love you. I love you beyond all imaginable reason. I would give my life for you, for yours, in a heartbeat because _you_ are the only reason that my heart beats. I will do _whatever_ it takes to protect you from anyone, including _her,_ don't _ever_ doubt that _._ If anything happened to you, _fuck,_ I don't… I don't even know." His heart-wrenching words paused here, his voice catching on the too-overwhelming thought of being without her. "I'm sorry if what I said or didn't say gave you the wrong impression but I swear to you, everything I'm doing, I'm doing to protect you even if I can't fully explain it to you right now; I'm begging you to trust me."

Her tears had begun to fall at his painfully sweet words. His confession was raw with emotion, the type of emotion that he always preferred to _show_ her rather than to say but _damn,_ he really did have a way with words when he tried.

This time, when he looked her in the eyes, she saw no anger, only remorse and his need for her forgiveness and love.

"I do trust you," she whispered, "I just hate feeling like we are helpless pawns in whatever game she is playing."

"I will put an end to this, I promise," he said sincerely, wiping away the tears staining her cheeks, "Legally, or otherwise, I won't let her hurt you. I won't let her come between us. _She means nothing to me, Beth, you have to believe me."_

His tortured entreaty was the healing salve on her aching heart. She heard it in his voice, she saw it in his face, just how much he was desperate for her to believe him. She didn't think she'd ever seen him so vulnerable to his emotions before.

"I believe you; I love you," she whispered, still in awe of how vulnerable he was and how unbelievably much her heart and love swelled for him because of it.

"I love you so fucking much, don't ever doubt how important you are to me. _Ever."_ His words came out harshly in a show of their significance, his eyes glistening with emotion and a glimmer of unshed tears

" _Show me._ " The words came, unbidden, straight from her heart, as her love and longing reflected in her gaze.

His eyes widened momentarily, surprised at her request, before he gently tilted her chin up and, acquiescing to her demand, claimed her mouth with his.

Darcy kissed her softly, reverently, mirroring the tenderness of his words. She moaned into his mouth, her arms coming up around his neck. He kissed her, pulling the soft fullness of her lower lip into his mouth, gently sucking on the tender skin; his tongue begging entrance into her mouth, gently caressing hers when she opened for him on a sigh.

There wasn't the immediate, overwhelming burn of desire; this time, he gently stoked the fire of her passion, making love to her mouth, pouring all that he had promised her into that kiss. She relished it, his tenderness, in those first few moments but, as much as she loved and appreciated his restraint, she didn't need him to take it slow, she just needed _him_.

She could feel the thick, hardness of his erection straining against her stomach. Running her hand down swiftly over the firm planes of his chest and stomach, she grasped his bulging member through his pants. His hips jerked in her hand as his head pulled back, sucking in a sharp breath of air.

" _Beth,"_ he groaned, his eyes closing as the pleasure of her touch rocketed through him. "I can't hold on when you do that…please.."

His gaze burned with barely checked passion.

After such a sequence of tumultuous events, after holding in her emotions all day, she needed to lose herself in him, in her love for him. She didn't care that they were locked in the women's bathroom, she needed his exquisitely uncontrolled desire, to be one with him.

"Darcy, I don't need you to hold on, I need _you."_ She emphasized her point by rubbing his erection suggestively, eliciting another strained groan from him. "I need to know that I am yours," she continued as she leaned in to kiss his jaw line over to his ear. "I need you to fuck me," she finished, biting on his earlobe.

Darcy growled in response, claiming her mouth once again, this time desire blazing, searing brightly between them as he pressed her back against the bathroom wall. Beth responded with equal fervor, her tongue dueling with his as her hand worked vigorously to free his penis from the constraints of his pants.

His hand dropped down to squeeze her ass before hiking her one leg up around his hip, her skirt bunching up to accommodate her new position. His movement paused, a shudder racking through his body as Beth finally managed to loosen his pants and work her hand inside to grasp his bare erection, burning hot and hard against her palm. His weakness was momentary as his finger barely moved aside her underwear before delving deep inside her hot, slick folds. She moaned against his mouth, her hips undulating against his hand.

"Shh," he whispered brokenly, "they can hear us."

Beth bit her lip trying to muffle her reaction, the act of which only heightening her desire. She felt his thumb against her clit as two fingers worked the inside of her passage, massaging that tender spot until she couldn't even tell if she was making noise or not.

She must have been because Darcy's mouth captured hers again, swallowing her moans. Beth tried to focus on pleasuring him, toying with the head of his erection, feeling it become impossibly hard underneath her touch as a small bead of moisture released from its tip.

He was on the verge of climax. Darcy growled into her mouth and his fingers began to work expertly on her core, bringing her swiftly over the edge of her orgasm, swallowing her cries with his mouth as her passage clenched around his fingers. He gave her no respite, his fingers pulled out of her but continued to rub her clit as she gasped for air. Before she could even process the sudden loss inside of her, he brushed her hand aside, lifted her so that her legs were locked around his waist, and pushed the length of his erection inside of her, groaning the entire way as her contracting passage massaged the sensitive skin of his penis.

She vaguely heard his harsh panting as he fully seated himself inside her vagina. He didn't move though, instead, he fingers toyed relentlessly with her swollen bundle of nerves; he groaned as he let the strengthening contractions of her inner muscles pleasure his aching erection.

Beth lost herself in the pleasure; all she could focus on, all she could feel was his finger teasing her clit closer to another orgasm as her passage clenched longing for the release that was swiftly consuming her.

" _Please,"_ she begged Darcy. _She was so close._

"Come around me - _make me come."_

She gasped, her eyes opening wide as his words sent her body over the edge of exquisite pleasure. Her hips jerked, even though they were pinned between him and the wall, her scream was quickly stifled by his mouth and soon mingled with his hoarse groan as her orgasming passage pulled him over the edge with her; the squeezing pressure of her muscles wringing his climax from him as she felt the warmth of his semen spread inside of her.

Their lips broke apart, gasping for air. Darcy's head falling against her collarbone as Beth leaned her head back against the wall.

"We should go," Darcy said hoarsely after a few minutes, a devious smile on his face as he quickly dropped a kiss on her lips.

Gently setting her legs back down, Beth groaned as her muscles protested after being in an awkward position for so long. Grabbing a paper towel, she quickly washed herself and wiped up the evidence of their tryst that had landed on the floor. Looking in the mirror, she adjusted her clothes until she felt that she looked presentable enough. Turning around, her face flushed as Darcy stared at her, renewed desire flickering in his eyes.

She grabbed his hand and leaned up to plant a kiss on his chin. "Let's go home," she whispered suggestively.

Unlocking the door, she let Darcy lead her quickly from the restroom hallway that was blessedly empty, to the elevator, just as eager as he to get back home to their bed.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Beth sauntered into her office Wednesday morning with a big smile on her face and a venti coffee in her hand. _It was going to be a good day - preceded by a wonderful Monday night and Tuesday._ She bit her lip at the thought. They'd gotten home Monday night and made love again, in the comfort of their bed. Once sated, they'd talked, picking up where they had left off at the dinner table. This time, Darcy's reassuring words that he loved her and would do anything to protect her finally sunk in. Beth couldn't believe she'd allowed that woman to get into her head.

 _Of course Darcy didn't still love the Crazy Bitch, how could he?_

Beth had let her insecurities get the best of her, ignited by the fact that she had been followed and threatened by the CB. She'd almost caved and told Darcy what had happened, especially once he promised her that if he had proof, any sort of reasonable evidence that he could take to the police, he would get a restraining order if it came to that. She could tell that he was still reluctant about it, and kept insisting that the CB would get tired of her games well before then, especially if he could figure out what she really wanted.

Beth couldn't bring herself to tell him that they were at that point. She'd gently prodded, trying to understand why he was hesitant to get a restraining order but his only response was that he was afraid of the impact that it would have on her and her family. There was something else going on, but he wouldn't say and what reason did she have to force him to - besides her unquenchable curiosity; he was doing everything he could to take care of the situation, take care of her. Then again, she was also keeping recent transgressions from him, partly because he said he was handling it but, truthfully, mostly because she didn't like feeling like she couldn't handle this on her own, that at the slightest offense, she was running to Darcy to protect her.

 _Stupid, stubborn independence._

Yesterday had been a perfectly normal Tuesday; no suspicious persons stalking her outside her office, no threatening emails, no fights with Darcy, just a productive work day followed by a relaxing evening with her gorgeous boyfriend and no mention of past ghosts to taint their time together. Last night she'd focused her efforts on keeping all conversation and thoughts on their present and future, leaving the past to wallow in its own turmoil for the evening. She tried her very best to get Darcy to tell her where he was going to take her in a few weeks, but with no success - something that Darcy had been very proud of himself for.

Her confidence in herself was only augmented this morning when she still could find no signs of suspicious persons outside of the office building - _and she was still on the lookout._ It was one of the many reasons for her smile this morning; maybe the CB had had enough, maybe she realized that she would never get close to Beth with her two bodyguards in tow.

Either way, Beth sat happily down at her desk, admiring the roses that Darcy had left on them Monday night, and opening her computer to check her email. _Still nothing out of the ordinary._ A hopeful smile spread across her face as she went to work responding to emails; the first of which to catch her eye was the response from Patrick.

 _Beth_

 _Sorry for the delay - I'm a popular guy. HA! Thanks for emailing me back. No worries about the other night. I just wanted to make sure that you were ok. I don't know what was going on, because you definitely were not sick (maybe a little distracted, but not ill). It's not my business so you don't have to explain but I needed to make sure you were ok._

 _On to business…As you know, I've put a lot of time and effort into locally growing the Patrick Dempsey Center for those affected by cancer. So, I've finally bitten the bullet and decided that I would like your assistance promoting this years 'Dempsey Challenge'. It's gotten enormously popular over the last several years but I'd like to take things up a notch when it comes to publicizing the race in October. We've been able to gather a lot of support and donations that have really made a difference in the quality of care we are able to provide and to be able to harness that support on a regional or even national level, that would be phenomenal._

 _Now, the reason I asked for you first and didn't give your boss any details is because I was afraid he might turn me down because of the location. The challenge is held Maine and I'm sure that there are a ton of firms in New England that I could use, but I'm comfortable with you; I want you. So, this mean that you would have to travel to Maine in October to attend the event._

 _Before you say no, keep reading. After I emailed your boss, I was thinking that we should host a second challenge this year in NYC. I've already put some of my people on it, but obviously I would want you to promote that race as well which would be more in your territory._

 _Let me know what you think. I don't need anything crazy, just looking forward to working with you on something that is very dear to me._

 _Yours,_

 _Pat_

Beth groaned as she couldn't help herself from smiling at his light-hearted, yet genuinely concerned words. She knew how much the Center meant to him; he'd started it after his mom had passed away from ovarian cancer. It was something that she wouldn't feel right saying no to. The downside… _well, there were two downsides._ One, what was Darcy going to say about her having to travel to Maine to work with Pat. _He'd probably just want to come with you._ Ok, fine, not a problem. Two, she couldn't help but get this vibe from his email that Pat wanted her for more than her professional abilities, that he was concerned about her for more reasons than friendly courtesy. He was a great guy, there was no doubt.

 _He'd probably be a better boyfriend than Darcy was._

Ok, maybe not better, but definitely easier, and with less baggage. Either way, she just didn't have those feelings for him and even though she was sure that he would respect that, she didn't want things to get awkward and ruin their friendship. _She'd just have to tread carefully._

Opening up her response, she told him that she was honored and that traveling to Maine for the race wouldn't be a problem. Requesting a bunch of details from him on the Lewiston race as well as tentative details on the NYC event, she told him she'd she what she could get together on about seven weeks notice. She didn't bring up what happened the other night again, because like he said, it wasn't his business and she didn't want to give him any false sense of hope of increasing their personal relationship. Once satisfied that she had asked for everything that she needed, triple-checking to make sure she sounded grateful and excited, but not too encouraging _personally_ , she sent over her response.

With a satisfied breath, she pushed back from her desk to stand and stretch for a minute. Running through in her mind everything that she'd accomplished thus far this morning - responding to all emails, confirmed pricing with Caro for the caterer and decorator, securing them both for the event, tied up all the loose ends from the events over the weekend, and responded to Patrick; she deserved a five-minute break.

Picking up her phone, she opened up her text conversation with Darcy.

 _Can you please give me a small hint of where we are going? How about telling me something that I will need to bring, like a bathing suit or a parka?_

She bit her lip on a smile, enjoying the playful banter going on between them on the subject. She'd let Darcy know days ago that she had the weekend after Caro's event open and he immediately told her to make sure to mark herself as unavailable Friday through Sunday. Since then, she'd been trying to bribe, trick, and beg the identity of their destination from him, with no success. Her heart jumping when her phone buzzed with his response.

\- _No. How about I'll tell you what not to bring?_

 _Ok…_

 _\- Underwear._

Beth felt her face flush and her legs instinctively tighten at the provocative thoughts that his answer incited. Her brain was flustered for a moment, debating whether or not she should actually keep this in mind while packing. Gnawing on her lower lip while deciding how to respond with something equally as enticing, she almost dropped her phone at the loud knock on her door.

"Come in!" Beth yelled, quickly locking her phone and setting it on the desk.

A young man opened the door, and peeked his head in.

"I have a delivery for Miss Bennet," he explained.

"That's me, come in," Beth encouraged him.

Quickly opening the door wide, the delivery man stalked into the room, his head and gaze kept down and focused on the floor in front of him, transporting a vase of black roses to her desk.

Beth stood gaping, in shock for a moment - _more flowers?!_ Before she could tip or even thank him, the delivery man was back out her office door, shutting it firmly behind him.

 _He was always surprising her._

Smiling to herself, she opened back up her text to Darcy.

 _Thank you for the roses._

 _\- I think you thanked me pretty well for them the other night, sweetheart._

 _I meant the ones from today, smarty._

At first, her body warmed at the reminder of Monday night, but then her brain caught up and re-read his message again.

 _Why would he think I'm talking about the roses from Monday?_

Unless these aren't from him.

 _Shit._

Setting her phone down, she quickly began the search to find some sort of card or paper to identify the sender.

 _What if they are from Patrick?_

No, he wouldn't do that, would he? Finally, on the back side of the bouquet, she found a black envelope tucked amongst the petals. Hastily pulling it from its perch, Beth saw her name scrawled on the front.

 _The handwriting was female._

Beth felt like her heart had dropped into her stomach, her body going cold all over. Distantly, she heard her phone buzz, probably from Darcy, but even the distant reminder of him wasn't enough to prevent the quick spread of dread crawling through her limbs. With shaky hands, she tore open the flap and pulled out the black paper insert; the note was handwritten in white, setting the message in stark contrast to the dark background of the paper:

 _Beth,_

 _Have you missed me? You haven't seen me in a few days, I hope you weren't getting worried. I watched your little reunion the other night; I guess I wasn't clear when I said that Darcy is mine. I can understand if you are hesitant to believe me, however, he will end up with me, that much is inevitable. Whether your separation from him is of your own doing or of mine, is your choice. Mark my words, if you make this difficult for me, not only will I destroy your relationship with him, I will destroy you, and then I will destroy the people that you care about, like Jane. Could you just imagine how she would feel if Charles broke off their engagement?_

 _It's simple, Beth. You will never understand what Darcy and I had, and you will never be able to give that to make him happy. You keep trying to change him but you cannot change who he is, which his why he and I belong together, because I never needed to change him. This is an easy choice, Beth. Why draw it out and make so many innocent people suffer when you know what I'm saying is true?_

 _Mrs. Darcy_

Beth felt her lungs gasping for air, yet she couldn't seem to find the strength to take it in. Somehow, she had ended up on the ground, unable to stay standing as the floor seemed unsteady under her feet.

 _She hadn't given up._

Worse than that, the CB still had been watching her, watching them and it was like she knew Beth's insecurities, knew her thoughts, knew what had happened that she could say the exact things to unleash the doubt that Beth had just managed to cage.

Numb to her surroundings, Beth stood slowly, feeling liable to break down at any moment. She made her way to her desk chair and sat down.

 _At least if anyone knocked or came it, she would have the semblance of being normal._

Beth took a deep breath as she faced the words on the card again. All of the hope that had built over the past two days, thinking that the CB had finally decided to leave her alone, to give up, came crumbling down. The glaring thought that returned to her was, _what if he still loves this woman?_ Beth grasped her temples in frustration. No, she knew that Darcy loved her, but for how long?

The CB was right, Beth was trying to change him, but for the better, and it was what he wanted, wasn't it? Her mind latched on to the restraining order discussion; he'd agreed to get one, but reluctantly. It had been obvious that he wanted to do it to make her happy, not because it was what he wanted to do though. Was this what she was talking about? That Beth could never make him happy if she was constantly forcing him to make decisions that he really didn't want to make? What could that possibly mean for them long-term?

 _Nothing good._

No, just because he was frustrated with the situation and maybe not thinking clearly didn't mean that he didn't want to do it, right? Beth was drowning in her thoughts, not even allowing herself to think about what the CB would do to Jane or anyone else in her family. When she read the words, suddenly, in spite of everything that they had made it though, her relationship with Darcy seemed so fragile, something that could easily be shattered by so formidable a force from his past.

 _Don't cry._

She needed to figure out what to do; she needed to act. Slamming the note face down on her desk, refusing to torture herself by staring at the words that were crushing her heart, she picked up her cell and texted Jane.

 _Are you busy? I need to talk._

A minute later her phone began to ring.

"Hey."

"Hey, what's up? Is everything ok?" Jane asked, worriedly.

"No, not really. Something has happened, or has been happening, and I don't know what to do about it and it's kind of started to freak me out but I just…I just don't know what to do," Beth rambled out quickly, beginning to stutter near the end as her emotions got the best of her.

"Oh my gosh, what's the matter? You're scaring me, Beth, what's going on? Is this about what happened over the weekend? I got your text that everything was good a few days ago; I assumed your talk went well…"

"Yeah, it did. That's not the problem; Darcy isn't the problem. Well, not directly anyway," Beth began, "it's his ex."

"Yes, you said she was back in town."

"She's back; she wants him back and she's started stalking and threatening me to make it happen." Beth's admission gushed out of her, affording her a moment of relief having finally confided in someone. "I don't know what to do. I haven't told Darcy. I don't know if I should or if I want to. I hate feeling like I can't handle this on my own but, she's threatened to not only ruin our relationship but my life and people in my family."

"Woah, Beth, slow down. So, Darcy's ex-girlfriend approached you and threatened you?" Jane asked, trying to work through the jumble of details that Beth had revealed.

"No. Well, yes. Sort of. After she approached Darcy at Renée's party, he was concerned that she might approach me. So, he gave me two bodyguards that escort me to and from work each day. On Monday, I guess, she was going to approach me but because of them, she didn't, she instead emailed me letting me know that she had been watching me and telling me that I needed to end it with Darcy."

"Ok, so she hasn't come up to you in person," Jane clarified.

"No, she just emailed me on Monday and then today a messenger delivered a huge vase of black roses with a handwritten card from her."

"What did it say?"

Beth just read Jane the card, it was less painful than thinking through a way to summarize the words.

"And you haven't told Darcy any of this? Why wouldn't you tell him?" Jane asked in disbelief.

"Well, at first, he was really stressed and insistent that he was handling the situation so, I figured that it was ridiculous to upset him over a stupid email; I didn't want to feel like a helpless ninny, running to him at every little thing. He said he was handling it, so I left it at that. Then, nothing happened Tuesday morning or this morning until the flowers and the note. I feel like she's escalating and trying to get inside my head. It's driving me crazy." Beth stopped to let out an incredulous laugh, still in disbelief that she was dealing with a situation like this.

"Beth, I think he knows that you can handle things on your own but, this is not the time. He needs to know if you are going to be a team; telling him doesn't make you helpless, it's going to let you both work to solve the situation together. Did he say what he is going to do to handle this woman?"

"Not really. He doesn't believe that she is here for him, he thinks she's just playing games to mess with him, with us. I don't know what to believe anymore. He said it wasn't like he could get a restraining order because there was no verbal or physical, documented threats made…" Beth trailed off, realizing how ridiculous it sounded knowing that she did have that proof, but had been keeping it from him.

"But you have that now! All the more reason that you need to tell Darcy - this gives him what he needs to keep this woman out of both of your lives."

"I don't know that he could get a restraining order for himself with it, because she never threatened him, only me. I don't know what's holding me back. At first, Darcy was really resistant to agreeing to get a restraining order even if he had the necessary documentation; now, he says that he will but I just feel like I'm missing something, that he's keeping a part of something from me. He says I have to trust him, that he will get the restraining order but that it could harm my family, which I don't understand, but he won't explain why."

"It must be someone that we know or are close to. Maybe someone who worked at the firm or is close friends with us or mom and dad. Obviously getting a restraining order against someone like that could make family or friend relationships very rocky because he'd have to tell you who it was at that point; you would have to know," Jane surmised.

"Yeah, I didn't think about that. I kept thinking that it had something to do with him and his feelings for her - that maybe some part of him still loved her and couldn't bring himself to legally cut her out of his life." Beth grimaced, again realizing how silly her thoughts were when voiced out loud.

"Oh, Beth. Darcy loves you, I'm sure that isn't the reason. I'm sure he's thinking of you and thinking that he can handle this on his own with his own methods, just like you are doing right now," Jane responded, distressed at her sister's line of thinking, hoping that she would see the parallels between their actions. "Me telling you to come clean with Darcy about what is going on, is just like you telling him that he needs to get a restraining order; they are both the logical things to do, but somehow both of you think you can do better on your own, without any help."

" _God,_ you are so right. I know. I don't know what the matter with me," Beth said, dropping her forehead in her hands. "He's going to be so mad too when he finds out that I kept her email from him earlier this week."

Beth shuddered at the thought - that was not going to be a fun conversation.

"Beth, you have to tell him, and then you both need to take this to the police. If she is harassing and threatening you, it needs to be handled. I don't care if you think you can handle yourself and just want to blow her off and see what happens, that's not going to fix anything - certainly nothing between you and Darcy," Jane said, sternly.

"You're right, Jane. I know, I'm being ridiculous about this. Ok, I'll tell him tonight when I get home. We're going away for the weekend anyway so hopefully that should put some distance between her and I until the police can get things under control."

"Promise me you are going to tell him," Jane begged, her concern evident in her distressed tone.

"Yes, I promise. I'm sorry to worry you like this, sis," Beth replied with remorse. "I'm a terrible sister, I never just check in to see how you are doing. I hope everything is going ok with you and Charles and the wedding. Did you tell him you bought a dress?"

"It's ok, Beth. I'm here for you," Jane reassured her. "Yes, I did tell him. Everything is going ok. Well, between us everything is great. There is some issues going on within his family now that his sister is back. He's been having to put out a lot of fires between her and his parents, and I know it's really been stressing him out. Like Caro refused to call his mom the other day when we were going shopping because she didn't want her there."

"Did you know she wasn't going to invite her?"

"No! Of course not. I would have called her myself, but I was going to call you so I asked Caro if she could get in touch with her mom about meeting us and then when I checked with her, she said her mom didn't respond. So, first, Mrs. Bingley was upset with me, until she realized that it was all Caro's fault that the invitation was never relayed."

"Wow, thats ridiculous. I thought they were over whatever drama happened between them all those years ago," Beth replied, incredulously.

"Well, I don't think they are fighting about the same issues. I think it's just Caro's personality and what she wants; I guess she's been very demanding and uncompromising, not unlike how she was before, so they've been fighting a lot more. Charles is coming over tonight so I'm sure I'll get more of the story then. I just feel so bad for him, always being caught in the middle."

"Yeah, that is really sad. On the one hand I can definitely see, and have seen, those characteristics in her, but on the other, I just don't get what she could be so obstinate about that it would cause so many problems," Beth mused.

"Yeah, I don't know. I've only gotten bits and pieces so far; I'm sure Charles will want to tell me more tonight. It's hard because she's going to be my sister-in-law and they are going to be my in-laws and I don't want to be stuck in between them. I think Charles has been jumping in a lot so that I don't get drawn into the crossfire."

Beth sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope everything works out. Let me know if there is anything that I can do."

"Thanks, but just take care of yourself, that's all you need to do for me."

"I will, I promise. I'll text you later and let you know how it goes."

"Ok, love you."

"Love you, too."

Beth hung up, laying her phone face-down on the desk, staring at the mass of dark blooms that were haunting and taunting her with their presence. Why was she being so stubborn about this - about telling Darcy?

 _Because, you always think you can handle everything life throws at you on your own. Because you handled Mrs. DeBourgh and stood your ground when she threatened you and your family._

Right, except that was a verbal threat from someone who she knew, who was sitting right in front of her. This is something far beyond that. She didn't know who this woman was, and it seemed like both Darcy and the CB wanted to keep it that way.

 _Well, if you can't confront her in person, there's still a second option._

Feeling a twinge of guilt and hesitation, Beth opened up her computer and searched through her email 'Trash' to find the email the CB had sent her on Monday.

 _She was going to tell Darcy, she really was, but she was going to give this CB a piece of her mind first._

Opening up the message, she hit 'Reply'.

 _Thank you for the beautiful flowers, but I have to say, black really isn't my color. While I appreciate your concern for Darcy's happiness, I can assure you that you are the farthest thing from someone who is able to make that happen._

 _Our relationship may not be perfect, but at least we are equals, at least I haven't abused him to the point which leaves him traumatized and unsure of what love is._

 _Darcy loves me, and I love him; and even if I bought into your petty threats and left him, he would still never come back to you. But, don't just take it from me. If you 'know' him so well, then surely you know that his good opinion, once lost, is lost forever. I would say that after what you did to him, what he watched you do to him, and what he had to go through to recover, that his 'good opinion' of you, if he ever had one, is most certainly lost._

 _Try whatever you want. Darcy belongs to no one, but he has chosen me. Do the right thing and just move on._

Before she could second guess the rashness of her decision to respond to the CB, Beth hit the send button and then immediately went and blocked the email address so that she wouldn't receive any response back.

Beth took a deep breath, feeling satisfied and slightly more confident in herself. She was still going to tell Darcy - maybe not about this email, but definitely about the things that the woman had said and done. Jane was completely right, both Darcy and she were so determined to do things, solve things, on their own, but that's not how a relationship works.

Her phone buzzed, pulling her back to the moment. She picked it up to see that Darcy had texted her four times since she'd thanked him for the roses that weren't from him.

 _I didn't send you roses today._

 _\- Who sent you roses?_

 _Hello?_

 _\- What's going on, Beth?_

He was probably freaking out from her lack of response. _Shit._ Just as she began to quickly type her response, the incoming call screen took over her attempt.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I was on the phone with Jane. I just got your messages," Beth answered, knowing it was a weak attempt at avoiding the question that she knew was coming next.

"Who were the roses from?" Darcy's hard voice sounded from the other end of the line.

 _Thank God they weren't from Patrick, Darcy sounds like he's ready to kill whomever would dare to send me flowers. Although, in this case, he definitely would want to, but for a whole different reason._

"Can we talk about this when I get home from work?" Beth asked, really hoping to avoid having this conversation now.

"Who, Beth?" was his response.

She could hear the edge of anger in his tone. He was jealous and protective and there was no way she was getting off this call without telling him who had sent them. She took a deep breath.

 _It was time to face the music._

"They are from her, Darcy. Your ex sent me black roses."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Beth stood in the lobby of her office building waiting for Darcy to get there. She tapped her foot nervously, probably annoying her security guard detail standing alongside of her.

Darcy hadn't said much…or anything really…when she had told him about the flowers. There had been a slew of expletives followed by a deathly silence on the other end of the line before he said that he would pick her up at her office tonight at five o'clock sharp. Beth peered out the glass windows in the lobby of Gardiner's offices, ignoring the people walking in front of the building, she tried to take a close look down along the front of the building for anyone who was standing and lingering. She didn't see anyone suspicious, unless Darcy's ex was dressed very convincingly as a homeless man. Which I highly doubt. Ironically, looking for the woman who was stalking and threatening her was giving her less anxiety at the moment than the thought of the discussion that was about to occur with Darcy.

In her periphery, she saw Jason, one of her bodyguards, put his hand up to his Bluetooth earpiece and mumble something.

He must be close.

A few seconds later a black Escalade pulled up outside, its windows tinted completely black. Beth felt her heart pick up speed just as Jason moved to open the door, allowing Andrew, her other bodyguard, to exit first, followed by Beth, and finally Jason. Even though they moved quickly to the car, Beth couldn't help her eyes from darting to her sides, trying to get one last sweep of the street.

It's not like you spotted her before, Beth.

Beth let out a sigh of resignation just as Andrew opened the rear passenger door of the Escalade for her. Her step faltered when she immediately caught Darcy's burning gaze.

Uh oh.

Steeling herself, she climbed into the SUV and sat down next to Darcy as the door shut behind her. As the car pulled away from the curb, Beth glanced him from the corner of her eye. She'd been fully prepared for an onslaught of questions the second the door had closed, but Darcy remained staying and brooding.

"Hi," she said, softly, hesitantly turning her head to look in his eyes.

"Hi," he replied even though his expression and tone screamed 'Not now.'

I guess he wants to wait to talk about that until we are home…

"I was nervous for a moment because I didn't recognize the car. Usually you pick me up in a town car, I didn't realize you had an SUV," Beth began, deciding that talking about random things was better than the silence that was going to eat away at her.

"I don't normally need it, but it has some special features that I felt were necessary for today," he replied cryptically.

Beth's eyebrows raised, wondering what those features might be. She had noticed that the windows were more tinted, but that was about the extent of it.

What if they are bullet proof?

Ok, that would be overkill.

No, that would be Darcy.

She stared at the glass a little harder, wondering now if they really were. The SUV did kind of feel like a tank inside. Beth started to look around the cabin for any more of these 'special features,' aware that Darcy's eyes were watching every minute movement that she made.

The car pulled up to the back entrance of the Plaza. Beth didn't even know you could get into the building this way unless you were an employee. When the car pulled up to the curb, Darcy opened his door, turning to her before he got out.

"Wait here," he instructed, "please." The last was uttered as a gruff afterthought.

Beth nodded, watching as he got out of the car and began to talk with Jason. She wished she could hear what he was saying. The car seemed to be incredibly soundproof, on top of which she was pretty sure that Darcy was speaking softly so that she didn't hear anything. She watched him, Jason, and Andrew looked around the very briefly before Darcy opened her door.

Beth got out of the car as Darcy placed a hand on the small of her back, the firm pressure had a grounding effect as he guided her to the entrance. He pulled out a special keycard that opened the door, leading them to the private service elevator. Beth was expecting Jason and Andrew to separate from them at this point but they climbed into the elevator as well, riding up with them the entire way to the penthouse floor. Only then, after Darcy opened the door to the apartment and ushered Beth inside, did he turn and give them instructions before shutting the door behind him.

She didn't know what to say or where to start. She just watched him close the door and waited for him to make the first move. His jaw was clenching as he turned back to face her, reaching out to grasp her hand and lead her into the living room. As soon as they reached the couch, he turned so suddenly that she ran right into him, but it didn't matter because his arms came around to clutch her to him, one around her back, the other reaching up and cupping her face before sliding back through her hair. His forehead fell to hers before he moved to bury his face in the side her neck. She heard him breathing deeply against her skin, his arms clutching her, his fingers gently massaging where they touched.

He held her to make sure she was ok, to make sure that she was still there, still his, that she hadn't been damaged by whatever the CB had said to her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely into her ear as he gently turned her face to his, kissing her reverently on the lips.

Beth sighed into the softness of his kiss; there was no pressure, no desire to consume, only the delicate need to comfort. Her eyes stayed closed and she lost her balance for a moment as Darcy pulled away. Steadying her, he gently kissed the tip of her nose as he stepped back.

"Why don't you sit down and tell me exactly what happened," he said gently, holding her arm until she was firmly seated on the sofa.

"I was at work when a messenger arrived with the roses," Beth began, "before I could even tip him, much less look for the card to see who they were from, he was gone. I just assumed they were from you, even though they were black, and that's why I texted you first, but then when you responded the way that you did, I realized that I made a mistake. Then I assumed that they must be from a client, maybe Renée, after this past weekend, but as soon as I opened the card, I knew."

"What did it say?" Darcy asked tightly. Then, changing his mind, added, "Can I read it?"

She could see the stress and anger building within him, his beautiful face harshly trying to contain the rage boiling underneath the surface just waiting for his ex-girlfriend's words to light the match. Beth bit her lip, wanting to give him the note because it was easier than having to try and relay the information herself, but not wanting to give him the note because she was afraid what his reaction would be to the real thing.

You know what you have to do.

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out the black envelope and held it out to him. Taking it almost hesitantly from her hand, Darcy pulled out the card inside. Opening it, Beth watched as he began to read.

She saw his brows furrow, his jaw muscles flexing as his eyes scanned over the words that this woman had written. Even though the card was held just between his fingertips, she could see his knuckles blanching with the force with which he was squeezing it; his other hand clenching into a fist by his side. Beth watched as the darkness of anger melted over his eyes.

When he had finished, he let his hand holding the card fall to his side, his other hand coming up to press briefly on his temples before running his fingers over his mouth, as though his rage had stifled his ability to respond.

"I know it's not true," Beth said quietly, breaking the silence, pushing aside her own insecurities to show her love and confidence in him.

"No, it's abso-fucking-lutely not true," Darcy spat. "I can't fucking believe her; I can't fucking believe this. Holy Christ…"

He trailed off as he spun towards the window, his arm coming up to rest on the frame as he leaned over, laughing harshly in disbelief at what he had just read.

"I can't even fucking imagine what you thought when you read this," he continued, still facing away from her. "After everything I've done to you, I'm sure that what she said sounds pretty fucking convincing."

"No!" Beth interjected emphatically, standing up and moving to put her hand on his back, reassuring him of the truth in her words. "I mean, I'll admit, it had me questioning myself, questioning us, but deep down I know that what she wrote isn't true; you've shown me that."

Here, he finally moved to face her, his face tortured with anger at his ex, and misery at the pain she, and he, had caused Beth.

"I know what she did to you," Beth continued, placing her hand lovingly on his cheek, "I know how you suffered and I know that you would never wish that on anyone, let alone willing to subject yourself to that again. I know that you love me."

"I don't deserve you," Darcy said, his voice raw with the emotion raging through him.

His hand came up to rest on hers, pulling it in front of his mouth so that he could gently kiss the soft, sensitive skin of her palm.

"I love you," she finished quietly.

"God, Beth," he began, pulling her hand from his face and walking a few steps away from her, "I never thought it would come to this. I swear. I can't fucking believe her. What is she thinking?"

The vehemence in his question took her aback as she watched him open the card again to reread it. She saw his eyes begin to read the first few lines again before stopping abruptly, looking up at her with furrowed brows.

"Why did she ask if you 'missed her' because you 'hadn't seen her in a few days'?" he asked, his voice hollow, his eyes narrowing on her. "Have you seen her before?"

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

THAT'S why she didn't want to give him the card. She hadn't told him about the email earlier in the week. The silence was becoming deafening as her brain tried to sort out the best way to gently tell him that she'd been hiding their previous communication from him. She felt her face flushing as the one or two seconds dragged on, feeling like hours.

"Well, ahh, no…" Beth stuttered, half turning towards the couch, his probing gaze making her squirm. "I mean, no, I haven't seen her before, but she has seen me."

"Where? At Renée's party?" Darcy pursued relentlessly.

Ugh, that would be such an easy cover except that you know it's wrong, Beth. And you promised Jane that you would tell him.

Ducking her head, her arms coming to cross in front of her chest, she continued reluctantly.

"No. She emailed me earlier on Monday. She emailed me and told that she'd wanted to come and talk to me but my bodyguards were in her way, but she was there, watching; she complimented the color of my sweater. Then, she basically said the same things."

When he didn't respond immediately, Beth hazarded a glance at him, nervously biting the corner of her lip. Her mouth parted when she saw him glaring at her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" his voice clipped, barely holding back his frustration now at her for hiding this from him.

"I don't know," she began, "I wasn't thinking. I should have told you, I just saw how upset seeing her made you and you seemed pretty sure that she would just get bored and go away so I thought I would just not bother you with it…"

"Not bother me with it?" he began, his voice beginning to rise, "Not bother me with the fact that my ex-girlfriend is threatening the woman that I love?"

"I'm sorry, Darcy, truly," Beth said, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I just thought I could handle it, you were already doing so much…"

"You shouldn't have to handle it!" Now, he was yelling. "She is my fucking problem; you shouldn't have to handle any of this!"

Even though his anger had been unleashed into his words, she could see how it was directed at himself, knowing that as much as he tried, he hadn't been able to prevent this woman from finding and toying with Beth.

"Darcy!" Beth yelled back, getting his attention with her sudden display of frustration, "We are together, a team; if something or someone is bothering you, then it is also my problem. I know that she is from your past, but you can't shut me out of your present in order to deal with the CB."

Beth watched as the color drained from his face.

"What did you just call her?" he said, sounding as though he couldn't breathe.

"The CB? It's ahh… a nickname I made up because I got tired of referring to her as your ex. So, now I call her CB; it stands for Crazy Bitch," Beth responded, coloring, slightly embarrassed to have let that small personal satisfaction unknowingly escape her lips.

"Oh…I see…" he said, exhaling deeply, the color returning to his face, tension visibly draining from his body. "What did the email say? Did you save it?"

"Yes, I have it. I figured I…you…might need it to show to the police," Beth responded meekly.

"What did it say?" Darcy asked again, his eyes burning straight through her.

"Well, like I said, she wrote about wanting to talk to me but didn't because of Jason and Andrew. Then, she wrote that she really liked my sweater, that the color was one of your favorites…on her," Beth paused, swallowing hard as Darcy's fist flexed at her words. "Then, basically the same thing as this note, that you loved her, that you two belonged together."

"I'm sorry, Beth," Darcy said, "you shouldn't…God…"

His voice cut off as his hand came up to run over his mouth and jaw again, anger and agony playing over his face.

"You should have told me, especially after we specifically talked about going to the police; you did have proof."

He wasn't yelling at her anymore, but he couldn't hold back his frustration that she had tried to deal with this on her own, especially after assuring her that he would file a restraining order if that's what it came down to. Shaking his head, he walked back slowly to her, placing his knuckles underneath her chin, tilting her face up to gently claim her mouth.

"I know, I'm sorry; I was an idiot and I let my fear get the best of me. It's going to be ok, Darcy," Beth whispered against his lips, "we're going to be ok."

"It's me that she wants; why can't she just come after me? I could handle her." His controlling harshness entering back into his tone.

"Because, she knows how much you care about me, and how little you care about her. It's easier to try to force me to sever our relationship than it is to try and affect you."

"I just want you to be safe," he replied, his face hardening at the reminder that she wasn't safe, that he hadn't been able to keep her safe. "I want to get you out of the city and away from her. What do you have this weekend? Can someone else handle it?"

"No, it's Jane's shower this weekend," Beth responded sympathetically, wishing she could leave with him to alleviate his fears, and hers, if she were honest. "I can't miss her shower; you know that I can't."

His mouth formed a thin line as he gave a curt nod acknowledging and acquiescing her point.

"I'll need you to print out that email so I can take it to the police and I'll need to keep this note as well."

"Ok, but won't they want to talk to me?"

"I don't know. I'm going to find out. I don't want you involved in this any more than necessary and if you are being followed, I don't want her to escalate things if she sees you going to the police. Please."

"Ok," Beth agreed, tired of arguing.

"I need a drink," he announced stiffly. "You've had a long day, why don't you shower and I'll order us up some food."

Beth folded her arms over her chest, nodding slightly. She wanted to comfort him more, but aside from leaving town with him right now, there was nothing else that she could do. She walked over, gently placing a kiss on the harsh line of his mouth, before heading into the bathroom.

 _It was going to be a long weekend - and not the kind that she had been dreaming about._


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Beth! There you are! What took you so long?"

Her mother's shrill voice greeted her as Irene opened the door to Caroline's three-story townhouse. Beth's brief, first impression of the house, as she awkwardly made her way up the front stairs, was that the architecture was beautifully executed, but the exterior had been painted gray, giving it a very bleak appearance - _at least to her._

"I'm sorry, there was traffic and then it took longer than I thought to pick up the flowers, I don't want to talk about it," Beth insisted as she pushed through the ornate doorway, past her mother, her arms straining to support the giant cardboard box she was carrying with all of the flowers in it.

"Caroline picked Jane up almost an hour ago and the guests should be arriving any minute!"

After stopping in the entryway, Beth found herself staring past the stairway to the second floor, down the long hallway of dark hardwood floor, a sitting room to her right and what looked like Caro's office to her left, closed off behind glass doors.

"Where is the kitchen?" Beth asked, ignoring the huffiness in her mother's voice, there was too much to do.

"Straight back and to the right. Now, the food is all set up in the dining room. Thank the Lord, at least the caterer arrived on time. Everything is still wrapped but we should probably unwrap it soon, maybe as soon as the decorations get put up…" her mother droned on, following her into the kitchen.

Like the exterior, the inside of Caro's house was painted a light gray, not depressing in itself except for the fact that there seemed to be no color present in the entire house - everything was either gray or black.

 _Guess she never has to worry about matching anything that she buys._

Finally making it into the kitchen, her muscles sighed in relief as Beth set the huge box down on the black, granite countertop, looking around for some scissors and the teacups.

"Oh my, and _what_ are you wearing? Please tell me that you brought a change of clothes," Irene continued, shocked when she realized her daughter was still in jeans and a t-shirt.

" _Yes, mom,_ I brought other clothes. I just didn't want to get them dirty while I do this. Now, can you bring me the cups, please?" Beth irritably asked her mom, who pursed her lips at her daughter's emotive response.

Irene walked off with a huff into what looked like the dining room - Beth couldn't really tell. She started to unpack the box of flowers and trim the stems when her mom returned with two smaller boxes of decorative tea cups that Beth began to arrange the English tea roses in. Irene began talking again, but Beth just nodded every so often, not really responding or really listening for that matter.

"Beth, are you listening to me?"

"I'm sorry. These will be ready in two minutes, if I can just focus on doing them. Why don't you take the ones I've already done and start putting them where you want them, mom?" Beth asked, trying not to come off too frustrated with her mom, but also trying to get the woman to give her a minute to collect herself and work in peace before the guests began to arrive.

Finishing up the flower cups, Beth washed her hands and quickly wiped down Caro's black, granite countertop of all the clipped stems and leaves that had been strewn all over it. Judging the kitchen as passably clean, she moved into the dining room to find her mom.

"I'm going to uncover the food now. Why don't you go change? Use the bathroom upstairs, I don't want you occupying the one down here in case our guests arrive and someone needs it," her mother instructed her pointedly.

"Ok, I'll be right back down," Beth responded, heading towards the main staircase.

"Oh, and Beth! Caro put all of the favor bags in the guest bedroom; can you please bring them back down with you?" Irene yelled after her.

Beth shook her head as she made her way upstairs, glancing in passing at the artwork that lined the staircase. Strangely, she hadn't seen any photos of family, or really any photos at all, in the house. It's like Caroline wanted there to be no evidence of who the house belonged to, or that she had family or friends.

 _Well, she did just buy it. Stop being so judgmental, Beth; maybe she hasn't gotten around to personalizing it yet._

Maybe.

Finding the bathroom right at the top of the stairs, Beth quickly stripped down, pulling on a soft, hunter green shirt dress and tall brown boots. Letting her hair loose from its ponytail, she quickly ran her hands through it, flipping her head over and back again trying to put some life back into the curls. Digging through her purse, she pulled out her small makeup bag. Hastily applying some eyeliner, eye shadow, and mascara, she reassessed her appearance in the mirror.

 _Not too shabby._

Who knew what Irene would say, Beth thought, rolling her eyes to herself as she gathered her things off of the bathroom floor and walked back into the hall. She set her bag down at the top of the steps, figuring it was as good of a place as any to keep it out of the way, and then turned her focus to which room was the guest bedroom that contained the favor bags.

 _Why they felt the need to hide the favors up here in the first place was beyond her. Who was going to be looking for them?_

There were three other doors along the hall before the entrance to the second staircase that went up to the third floor. Beth was about to yell down to her mom and ask which room was the guest room when she heard the front door open and her mom greeting the first arriving guests.

 _Guess we'll just have to check them all._

Opening the first door on her right after the bathroom and peeking inside, Beth realized that it looked like it was just a smaller sitting room, but definitely not a guest bedroom and no sign of the favors.

The next door was a little farther down the hall. Opening the door, Beth peered inside, seeing windows along the left side of the room and then, finally, a bed.

 _At least she'd found a bedroom._

Just like with the rest of the house, there were no personal effects to tell if it was Caro's room or not. She opened the door further and took a step inside. Directly opposing the door was the king size bed. There were three windows on the left that faced out of the front of the house, and a long dresser along the wall on her right. The room was a darker gray, the bedding black and white, and a huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Beth stopped for a moment, just taking in the surroundings, still wondering why Caro had no photos or personal effects anywhere, even in her bedroom.

 _Not your business. Find the favors._

Shaking her head, Beth turned to leave and close the door behind her. Just as she made the one-eighty degree turn, a large canvas on the wall that the door was on, the wall that faced the bed, caught her eye; she couldn't see it clearly as she was almost back out the door. She didn't know what it was, but something deep down had her stop and compelled her to push open the door and turn back into the room to take a good look at the artwork.

Standing in front of what had to be a four foot by five foot canvas, she took in the entirety of the work. It was a charcoal sketch of a nude male, posing suggestively with a blanket barely covering what was a clear state of arousal; it was done by Caroline whose name was scrawled with a flourish in the bottom right hand corner.

 _Oh, God._

Her heart stopped and Beth felt the wind go completely out of her, blood draining rapidly from her face.

 _It was Darcy._

 _IT. WAS. DARCY._

In a daze, she stepped closer to the drawing, her hand raising as if to touch his face, before recoiling to cover her gaping mouth. It was a younger Darcy, but it was still Darcy; his gaze at the artist, at Caroline, was unmistakable. Time stood still as the room became a blur collapsing around her and the canvas; maybe because her eyes were hyper-focused on the man that she loved, staring back at her from another woman's bedroom, or maybe because she was about to faint. The only thing that kept her standing was the profusion of thoughts, realizations, connections that bombarded her from every angle.

Suddenly, all of the dots began to connect. Caro's return, her questions to Beth, why she was at Renée's party, it was all to figure out about Darcy and her. The emails, all of the information that the CB… _oh, God…the CB; only in her life would the Crazy Bitch turn out to be Caroline Bingley._ Now Darcy's reaction to her nickname made complete sense; now, his reaction to everything made sense.

That's why he freaked out when she went to meet Jane _and Caroline_ at the bridal saloon; not only had she left him when he was overwhelmed and stressed and concerned for her, but she left him to deliberately put herself in the presence of the person he was afraid of.

It was like there had been a layer of fog over every conversation, every action, every interaction over the past few weeks and now the fog had precipitously cleared, leaving only the harsh reality for Beth to confront.

Caroline was going to be Jane's sister-in-law, what would happen if she pursued a restraining order against her? Who wouldn't be able to go to the wedding? Jane was her sister, but Charles was Caro's brother. How would that even work? And what kind of disarray and stress would it put on them? _That's why Darcy said it was complicated;_ not because he cared about Caro, but because he cares about _her._ How would Jane feel, knowing that it was Caroline who was doing this to her? How would it affect her relationship with Charles?

 _It was complicated?! No, it was suffocating._

"Beth! What are you doing! I need you downstairs with the favors, Jane is going to be here any minute!" her mom screeched, standing at the doorway, forcing Beth back to the present.

In a moment of lucid thought that Beth didn't know that she possessed, a mask of normalcy came over her, covering all trace of the shock she'd just experienced.

"I know! I just didn't know which room was which, but I figured it must be the last room since I've barged into all the others." Beth's words conveyed the perfect amount of exasperation at the lack of detail in her mother's instructions, as she ushered her mom back into the hall, shutting the door behind her.

If Irene had thought something suspicious was going on when she came upon her daughter staring blankly at a piece of artwork on the wall, the thought was quickly trumped by the immediacy of the party going on below them and her need to return to it.

Focusing on only the task at hand, Beth walked purposefully to the last door, opening it to reveal the favor bags sitting neatly along the floor. Her mother and she gathered the small gifts and made their way back downstairs. Beth made a show of arranging the gift bags neatly on the entryway table, insisting that her mom get back to the guests needing a moment to process everything that had just come to light.

Once alone, she still couldn't manage to hold onto a single train of thought. All she could see was Darcy's face on the canvas over and over again, looking at her with that hunger in his eyes; except, he wasn't looking at her, he'd been looking at Caro. Her phone buzzed, it was _her,_ letting Beth know that she and Jane were on their way.

 _She's going to be here any minute. What are you going to do?_

What could she do? She couldn't leave. She couldn't confront her, especially without talking to Darcy first.

 _What was she even going to say to him? How could he not tell her?_

Pain bloomed in her chest. She was trapped. All that she could do was pretend like nothing had happened, like there was no problem between them, like Caro hadn't stalked and threatened her, like Caro wasn't trying to ruin her relationship with Darcy so that she could have him all to herself.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck._

Her heart was racing, but she had no choice. Caro had no clue that she had seen the drawing. It was her only saving grace that, for Caro, nothing had actually changed.

 _Now, how she going to be able to pretend that nothing had changed, that was the issue._

Her stomach turned at the thought of talking to Caroline now, knowing that it was her who had hurt Darcy the way that she had. If Caro had just been a normal ex-girlfriend, who hadn't traumatized the love of Beth's life, who hadn't played with his emotions, who hadn't threatened her and her family, this wouldn't be an issue.

 _Except maybe there would be a little bit of jealousy because Caroline is drop-dead gorgeous, and Darcy had 'loved' her._

 _Ok, fine._

All of these thoughts were playing across Beth's mind when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey! Where have you been hiding?" The playful warmth of Charlotte Lucas' voice melted through the cold anxiety that intensified as every minute brought Beth closer to facing Caroline.

"Hey, sorry! It's been a crazy morning trying to get everything ready for this," Beth explained with a forced laugh. "I literally just changed and brought the favors down and Jane's about to walk in any minute. Nothing like cutting it close!"

Char looked at her suspiciously. If Char had been Jane, she would have known something was off, but she wasn't; she and Beth hadn't seen too much of each other recently which meant that Char took Beth at her word and didn't press her concerns further.

"Caroline just texted me that they are on their way, so we should get everyone ready for the surprise," Beth continued, Caroline's name leaving a bitter taste in her mouth as she ushered Char over to the rest of the group of guests.

Gathering everyone in the living room off to the right of the entrance, Beth and Irene hushed everyone into silence, waiting for the bride-to-be to make her entrance. Thankfully, they only waited a few minutes before Beth's phone buzzed to tell her that Caro and Jane were here.

Beth's heart clenched when the door opened and Caroline entered the house first, rage coursing through her body. The moment anticipating Jane's entrance, however, reminded her of the role she had to play and, leading the group, yelled, " _SURPRISE!"_ as her sister entered the house.

For a second, all Beth could see was the mix of astonishment, excitement, and happiness exude from Jane's face. All of the negative emotions that had consumed her in the past fifteen minutes subsided as she rushed up to hug and greet her sister; both of them laughing with happy tears in their eyes. They were quickly overwhelmed as Irene and the rest of the guests made their way forward to congratulate Jane.

Beth carefully moved back out of the mass, letting Jane enjoy the crush of attention. As she scanned the room to assess the whole situation, she caught Caro's eyes, quickly keeping hers moving across the rest of the room. Spotting Char on the periphery of the guests talk to her mother, Beth decided to make a beeline for their company, hoping to avoid at least a private conversation with Caro at all costs. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough.

"Beth! What a wonderful job you and your mother did," Caro exclaimed as Beth felt her icy hand grab her arm to detain her.

Plastering a fake smile on her face, she turned to face the woman trying to destroy her.

"Thank you," she replied hollowly, "it was a bit of a craze this morning, but we were able to pull everything together."

Beth saw Caro's eyes flicker with interest at her subtle change in demeanor.

"I see," Caro continued, her eyes narrowing even so slightly on Beth, "so, what do you think of my house? I haven't been able to do much with it yet, but I hate to start because I'm not sure how long I'll be staying here…"

 _Why? Because you think you'll be moving back in with Darcy soon? HAH!_

"I'll be honest, I haven't too seen much of it," Beth replied, not taking Caro's bait, "I ran late this morning so this is probably the first time I've stopped and actually taken a look around, but it seems very nice."

"I thought so. At least it will be a great investment property when I move out," Caro continued, even more suggestively as a sly smile crept over her face.

"Oh, definitely!" Beth exclaimed, plastering on a smile even though her gaze was hardened with hate. "Oh, you know what I need to go check with my mom about the favors, I'll catch up with you later."

Beth turned around and walked away, hoping she was going in the direction of her mom, while leaving Caro staring after her. She couldn't stand to be in her presence any longer, with her coy remarks, her subtle attempt to provoke Beth into delving deeper into her personal life, all the while knowing that it was she who was trying to destroy Beth's relationship with Darcy. Beth couldn't help but think about every conversation that they had ever had; her anger rising as she thought about how each time Caro was only toying with her, pretending to be concerned, looking for a friend, when all the while she was truly planning on ruining her relationship.

Beth grabbed one of the cocktails sitting on the small bar in the dining room, taking a large sip of the fruity mimosa within, hoping to wash down the taste of bile in her mouth and her stomach's urge to vomit.

Thankfully, Beth found Irene in the dining room talking with Mrs. Bingley.

 _Perfect. Any enemy of Caro's is a friend of mine._

If she could ensconce herself in conversation with Caro's mom, that might be enough of a deterrent to prevent Caro from approaching her again.

"Mrs. Bingley, it's so wonderful to see you again," Beth exclaimed, greeting Jane's future mother-in-law.

"Good afternoon, my dear. This is a lovely little party you've put together," Mrs. Bingley replied.

Mrs. Bingley was a very reserved woman, who, along with her husband, had very similar ideas about life and marriage as Irene Bennet. Well, it was more like Mrs. Bingley had specific ideas about social norms that she _insisted_ that Mr. Bingley follow. Naturally, though, this was the main reason that she and Irene got along so well. Beth hadn't spoken to her very much before now, most of what she knew had been relayed from Jane.

Mrs. Bingley was dressed as if she were here to attend tea with the Queen of England herself, but then again, every time Beth had seen her before, this was the style and caliber of clothing that she had chosen to wear. She was very pleasant, but never got too emotional about anything, whether it was good or bad; it seemed that Charles had inherited his congenial manner from his father.

"We were just discussing the troubles of raising girls," Irene interjected, clearly eager to get back to the discussion.

 _There must be some juicy gossip involved…_

"Ahh, yes, well, I was saying that it seems that you've lucked out here with Jane, Irene. If only my Caroline were so well-behaved," Mrs. Bingley continued on a sigh.

"I thought you and Caroline were on good terms," Beth exclaimed, falsely, "at least, I would have never thought otherwise…"

If Mrs. Bingley was anything like Irene, she wouldn't hesitate to discuss her woes with her daughter.

 _Turn around is fair play,_ Beth thought with a smile. _Time to figure out what Caro is really doing here._

"Yes, yes, if only that were the case," Mrs. Bingley lamented, "unfortunately, my daughter is very headstrong and focused on what she wants, regardless of the effects it will have on her family."

"Well, her artwork was a pretty big success in Italy, she was telling me," Beth instigated, hoping that she would reveal more.

"Yes, well, they must not know about proper art," Mrs. Bingley huffed, "I just don't see why she can't stick to more traditional subjects. Nudity is only a cheap trick for attention."

"So, you don't approve of her exhibition that she's hosting next weekend?"

Beth's eyes wandered for a brief moment back into the living room. There, she noticed Caro in a group conversation with Jane, yet simultaneously watching her intently with narrow, speculative eyes.

"No, no. I thought her coming back was to mend things between us, but I was wrong; it was unfortunately a little more financially motivated than that," Mrs. Bingley responded with a hint of resentment, before suddenly realizing her company and deflecting the conversation by asking Mrs. Bennet about Lydia.

 _Well, that's interesting information. Would Jane know more?_

Jane had told her that Charles was struggling with issues between his parents and sister, maybe he had told her. The problem was that Jane would never gossip about private family issues, even to Beth, unless she knew the real reason that Beth was asking, and that would mean telling her that her future sister-in-law and bridesmaid was a crazy, stalker bitch.

 _Would Jane be able to handle that? Would she be ok?_

There was no way Beth could go through with a restraining order now, before Jane's wedding; she also knew that she couldn't keep from Jane who her tormenter was, as much as she wanted to spare her the awkwardness.

 _What do you say? 'Hey sis, by the way, the crazy person stalking and threatening me is your new sister-in-law. Good luck with that'?_

 _UGH!_

What if she kept it from her until after the wedding at least?

 _No, you know Jane is going to ask you what you've done about the woman harassing you, if you've gone to the police. True, but I could lie._

No, she couldn't lie to Jane, plus, not that it would change how she felt about Charles, but for Jane's safety, she should know that Caro is the ex; the CB threatened her, too, after all.

 _God, what do I do?_

She needed to talk to Darcy, first, before she told Jane anything; _they_ needed to come up with a plan. Hopefully, once Jane knew who the ex-girlfriend was, she would be able to help Beth figure out the real reason why Caro was back.

Beth stood by the mothers, superficially involved in the conversation, while letting her mind run through the possible implications of what she had just learned. A few minutes later, they were joined by Jane, who graciously thanked them all again for such a wonderful surprise.

"I really had no idea," she gushed. "Caro did an excellent job with her ruse. Thank you so much, mom, Beth."

 _I bet she did._

"I'm so happy you were surprised," Beth replied, hugging her sister, "It was so hard not to say something to you about it. I hope you're having a good time. We tried to keep it as low key as possible."

"No, it's perfect. Thank you!"

"Also, we decided to leave it up to you if you want to open some of your gifts, or if you would rather just mingle and then open them later."

"Oh, ok," Jane said, biting her lip as she thought about her options.

"I'm sure your guests would love it if you opened your presents," Irene interjected her opinion.

"I'm _also_ sure that your guests would love to spend time actually talking to you, too, so, you do what you want, Jane," Beth added in, giving her mother a glare.

"Ok, yeah maybe I will just do that and open the gifts later. I feel like it's boring to sit and watch someone open presents."

"See, Louise, even Jane can be troublesome, too" Mrs. Bennet grumbled, giving Mrs. Bingley an empathetic glance, enjoying their solidarity over disobedient daughters.

"Mom, I think this is what everyone would rather. It does get boring to just sit and watch; I'd hate for any of your friends to get bored," Beth chastised.

"Ok, fine," Irene huffed, "have you seen all of your guests, Jane?"

"Yes, I think I've managed to chat with everyone," Jane replied with a smile, "they are all raving about the food, and the house. Caroline really found a wonderful place."

"Yes, well, it was given to her so I don't think she had much of a choice," Mrs. Bingley retorted.

 _Well, that's even more interesting._

Beth peeked at her watch, anxious for the party to be over, not so much to escape from Caroline's presence, but so that she could find out from Jane just what Mrs. Bingley was holding back.

 _If Jane knew._

Jane stayed and chatted with them a few more minutes before their mother began to drag her away to make rounds thanking their guests again. There was only about an hour left to the party and a few friends already had had to leave.

Their departure left Beth standing awkwardly with Mrs. Bingley. As much as she tried to inconspicuously draw out more information from the woman, she had no luck. Realizing she would get no further clues as to what Caroline's motives were, she stuck around a few minutes longer, making small talk about the wedding while strategizing who it might be safe to talk to next; it had been a small reprieve knowing that Caro wouldn't approach her again while she was in the company of Mrs. Bingley.

Surreptitiously scanning the living room, Beth spotted Char and Mrs. Lucas sitting in the far corner eating and chatting.

 _Perfect._

Beth thanked Mrs. Bingley for coming, and excused herself with the wish to get something to eat. Even though he stomach wasn't the slightest bit hungry, the anxiety of the moment keeping her on edge, she filled a small plate with the mini-sandwiches and made her way quickly over to Char and her mom, taking note of Caro talking with Irene and one of her mother's close friends.

"Beth, I haven't seen you around in a while," exclaimed Mrs. Lucas as Beth took a seat next to Char on the settee.

"I know, I've been so busy with work events; it's just been crazy," Beth replied with an apologetic smile, taking a bite of one of the sandwiches on her plate.

Looking up from her plate, Beth caught Caro's watching her intently. She sent her a half-hearted smile, trying her best to diffuse any suspicion. Right now, she had the upper hand and as much as she wanted to punch Caro in the face for what she did to Darcy, Beth tried to keep herself focused on the long-term plan. What that was, she wasn't quite sure of, but she had a feeling Jane would be able shed some light on the topic. All that was left after that was to talk to Darcy.

The thought brought his gorgeous face to the front of her mind, but not the flesh and bones version of it, the charcoal version that was hanging in Caro's bedroom, directly across from her bed with his sultry eyes staring out at her; Beth almost vomited up the few bites of the cucumber sandwich that she had eaten. Forcibly swallowing, she pushed him to the back of her mind and immersed herself in the conversation around her.

It wasn't much longer until Mrs. Lucas wanted to head home, so Char and she said their goodbyes, promising to catch up another day. Shutting the front door behind them, Beth realized how sparse the remaining guests were; those that were left seemed to be saying their farewells also. Beth graciously handed out the favors to the last of her mom's friends as they departed, congratulating her on a beautiful party. All that remained was her, Jane, their mom, Caro, and Mrs. Bingley.

Beth watched with dismay as Mrs. Bingley gave Caro an unaffectionate hug before warmly turning to Jane and Irene to say her goodbyes.

 _Well, there goes my last refuge._

At last, all who remained were the party planners and the bride herself.

"I'm sure you've had a long day, Jane," Irene began, taking charge of the situation, "why don't you and I gather the gifts and head out. I think Beth and Caro can take care of the clean-up here."

"I'll help you with the gifts. Jane, do you want any of these teacups? I can gather them for you to take home," Beth offered.

"Sure, I can take them."

"Ok, I'll just throw the flowers, unless anyone wants to keep any, and then box them up."

When no one requested to keep the flowers, Beth quickly gathered her decorations, trying to do as much clean up before her mom and sister departed, leaving her along with Caroline. When she returned to the foyer, all the gifts were gone and Jane and Irene were saying their goodbyes.

"I'm sure you're exhausted, but you're always welcome to stay and open your gifts here, Jane," Caro offered.

"Thank you, but I just craving a nice warm shower and changing into something relaxing," Jane admitted, "but thank you for taking me out earlier and helping me with Charles' ring! I think I've decided which one I'm going to go with."

"Wonderful," Caro responded, with her smile that, to Beth, just never seemed quite sincere.

Beth hugged her sibling and her mother, shutting the front door behind them.

"I'll just grab the rest of the decor, if you want to toss the food and then we should be done!" Beth exclaimed, perhaps a little too cheerfully to Caro, trying to dart past her quickly before Caro tried to ensnare her in conversation.

"Beth, could I talk to you for a minute?"

 _Shit._

She'd been waiting for the ball to drop all afternoon. Well, now, here it comes.

"Of course," Beth said.

"Is everything ok, Beth? You seemed a bit off today." Caro's eyes bored into hers, unrelenting in their quest for what was really going on.

Beth stared right back, unwilling to back down, to show any signs of weakness in front of this woman who was nothing more than a bully.

 _Well, two could play at her game._

"Of course!" Beth replied with a false enthusiasm. "I was just really stressed this morning, running late and all, and then, well, personal issues."

"Fighting with your man again?" Caro immediately jumped on the bait, barely able to conceal her smile at the supposition.

"Yeah, just over something small and stupid but it had me all worked up," Beth continued, teasing her with tidbits of information, gathering up the remaining decor while Caro followed her around, "but, everything is fine."

"Are you sure? Why don't you talk to me about it, maybe I can help," Caro offered falsely.

"It's really fine. I just need a long shower and, oh, I think that is everything that I brought for the party," Beth exclaimed, walking closer to the front door with all of her stuff. "I'm just great, don't worry. I'll touch base this week about your show and just make sure every detail is arranged. Thanks for all your help today!"

With that, Beth turned, opening the front door, and walked outside to the black car waiting for her, not giving Caro a moment to interject or question her further without chasing her awkwardly onto the sidewalk.

"Have a good night!" Beth yelled to Caro from the curb as she climbed into the car.

 _She still thinks that she's one step ahead of me. Boy, does that CB have another thing coming._


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Beth closed her eyes as soon as she got into the safety of Darcy's car.

 _God, Darcy._

Now alone, the emotions that she'd crushed up and locked away inside, broke free; pain unraveling in her chest at the thought of him.

 _How could he not have told her?_

Eyes closed, she saw his stoic face staring back at her in her mind, his expression warming as the color and detail drained from his face, slowly transforming his visage into that of Caroline's work.

Beth's eyes shot open.

 _Would she ever escape the shock and pain at seeing the drawing? Would she ever stop imaging the scene from which it was made and the events that probably preceded or followed it?_

Strangely, she wasn't mad. She knew why he didn't tell her; it was the same reason for everything that he did - to protect her. At first, it would have made no difference if she had known that his ex was Caro or not. Caroline wasn't present in their lives and aside from Jane's wedding, it would have been a rare occasion that they would have been in the same location, let alone the same country. Telling her from the start would have only made it awkward for her; it would have made her feel obligated to tell Jane.

 _Ok, not obligated, but she probably would have told her sister out of anger at how Caroline had treated Darcy._

And then Jane would have had to live with that decision, that knowledge, about her husband's sister.

Even after Caro approached him and began threatening her, her heart clenched at the memory of how he had wanted to handle everything on his own. True, it was typical of him to act that way, but this time was different. He wanted to handle it on his own to spare her from having to choose between him and Jane, because that it what it would have come down to; either she would refuse to be in Caro's company, thereby alienating her sister, or refuse to alleviate Darcy's concerns and hurt him by deliberating putting herself in a position of potential harm in order to support Jane.

 _He probably was afraid of who your choice would have been._

He shouldn't have been; he would have been her choice.

Here her thoughts paused as the car pulled up at the back entrance to the hotel. Beth got out, in a daze, but stopped short of entering the elevator. She needed a minute to think, a minute alone to process, and she had barely just gotten that; she needed a plan before confronting Darcy.

Pulling out her phone, she opened up a text to him,

 _Are you home?_

 _\- Not yet. I'm still out with Charles. I'll be a little yet._

 _Ok_

 _\- Everything ok?_

 _I'll see you soon._

 _\- Can't wait. God, how I miss you, gorgeous._

Before she could stop it, her mind wondered if he used to say that to Caroline and she instantly felt the piercing sting slicing through her heart. She didn't even know how to feel - hurt, angry, upset, grateful?

 _Not now, Beth._

Stepping into the elevator, she let out a shaky sigh safe in the knowledge that she would have the apartment to herself when it arrived at its destination.

Beth stopped short, crossing the threshold into the apartment, the extreme silence inside a stark contrast to the deafening commotion of the thoughts inside her head, clamoring for attention. In a fog, she set her things down, walking into the kitchen to grab a water bottle before returning to the entryway, unsure of where to go; the bedroom was too passionate, the living room, too open, and the office was Darcy's space. Somehow she wound up at the end of the hall, gingerly placing her hand on the doorknob to Darcy's studio. She didn't know what drew her to this room; she hadn't even been back inside it since that night, but she knew that Darcy hadn't locked it since then. Confirmed by the full extension of the handle, Beth opened the door into his sanctuary.

She felt a twinge of guilt, as though she was invading his privacy, but for some reason, in here, she felt an immeasurable sense of intimacy and clarity. Here, she felt that there were no barriers between her and Darcy. Or maybe, she ended here because she was searching, searching for any reciprocating sign of Caro in Darcy's work. Her eyes began to scan the works scattered along the sides of the room before her mind told her she was foolish for doing so.

 _Now is not the time._

Sitting on the couch, she closed her eyes, remembering for a moment the last time she had sat here. It brought her back to why she had been sitting there in the first place - because Caro had approached Darcy at Renée's party.

Everything made so much more sense now. Why Caro had approached her first, why she'd questioned her about her date, why she felt like Caro had been continually watching her, and why Darcy had needed to leave right away - not just because he was angry and in shock, but because every moment longer they stayed, brought a greater chance of Beth finding out the connection between Caro and Darcy.

Staring off into the room, Beth's eyes opened to all of the ramifications of what she had just learned. It was no wonder that Darcy had been insistent on trying to deal with Caro on his own and resisting any suggestion of obtaining some sort of restraining order. Even now, Beth struggled on how to tell Jane. What would have happened if she did pursue legal action? What would that have done to Jane, to their relationship? To her relationship with Charles, knowing that their sisters could never be in the same place at the same time?

Even now, how were they supposed to be in the same place? In the same wedding?

 _God, this is so fucked up._

She wanted to scream. She wanted to be mad at Darcy for his relationship with Caro, for not telling her.

 _Everyone has a past; stop being jealous and self-conscious._

He should have told me.

 _Should he? Look at where you are now, look at what you are going to have to put Jane through._

"Beth?"

Her head jerked up, blinking a few times until Darcy was in focus. This was the first time she'd been so consumed in her thoughts that even her body's response to him had been muted.

"Beth, what's wrong?" he asked urgently, walking intently over to her and kneeling in front of her.

Beth couldn't even find the words to speak; she didn't know where to start. Everything felt like a daze around her; Darcy's concerned face morphing into Caro's representation of it. She quickly shut her eyes and turned her face away.

Darcy raised both of his hands to grasp her face, his thumbs wiping away tears she hadn't known were even falling. Beth bit her lip, frustrated as more of them forced their way through her closed eyelids and down her cheeks.

"What's wrong, Beth? What is it?" Darcy asked again, his voice hard as granite, fearing the worst.

Taking a deep breath, Beth opened her glazed eyes to him again.

"It's her, Darcy," she whispered, " _it's Caroline."_

The second or two that followed seemed to pass in slow motion. Beth watched as every emotion painstakingly took its turn crossing Darcy's face.

First, the slight furrow of confusion in his brow dissolving as the realization that Beth finally knew became clear. His muscles tensing and contorting with a mixture of pain and anger that burned in his gaze; a gaze that left hers only a moment later, but not before she saw the hint of shame breaking through his rigid composure.

"How did you find out?" he asked, his words low and harsh, breaking through the trance-like shock brought on by her admission.

"I don't…does it matter?" she whispered, pained by the memory.

" _I swear to God, if she fucking did something to you…"_ he swore vehemently, his hand moving under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"No! No… she didn't do anything. She doesn't know; she doesn't know that I know."

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes boring into hers, assessing whether or not she was telling the truth.

"Then how do you know?"

"At Jane's party, I went into her bedroom and I saw," Beth began, her voice cracking part way through the sentence, "I saw a drawing on her wall… a drawing of you. No, a _naked_ drawing of you on her wall." A small, bitter laugh accompanied her last statement, as if she couldn't believe that the words were even coming out of her mouth, couldn't believe that the words were true.

 _"_ _God dammit,"_ he spat, standing up and stalking away from her, hands clenching at his sides, unable to watch the pain he had caused play over her beautifully sad face.

Beth watched helplessly as he stalked over to one of the still life canvases propped up against the wall and put his fist right through the middle of it; the tearing and cracking of the canvas dissolved her paralysis.

"Darcy, stop!" she yelled, standing up from the couch.

Her sudden outburst surprised him. He turned around to be confronted by her tear struck and emotionally stricken face, self-loathing quickly overpowering his rage.

" _Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck."_

He began to walk back towards her but stopped himself short, paralyzed with the thought that anything he did was only going to hurt her worse. Beth watched as he sat down on the stool in front of the drawing he had started of her, dropping his head into his hands.

"Why are you here?" he groaned. "Shouldn't you have left me by now?"

"I'm not leaving you!" she yelled, frustrated at how little faith he continually showed in her. "God, I'm just in shock and upset that _you_ didn't tell me."

"God, I wanted to," he said with a self-deprecating laugh, "I even tried, but then I just couldn't bring myself to do it. First, I know she's your client and I know how important your job is to you; what would you have done, Beth? Continue to work with her, knowing who she was?"

He paused here, looked at her pointedly, waiting for her response. It was a response that she didn't want to admit to. Beth bit her lip, looking down at the floor. All she had thought of was Jane, she hadn't even thought of herself and her job.

"I don't know what I would have done," she murmured.

"No? Because the other option would be to refuse to work with her and what would Phil have said when you told him that you had to drop another client for personal reasons? Because it would have either been that, or you would have worked with her, helped her succeed, all the while having to pretend that you were ok with her. I know things were rough at work after you fired Cathy, ahh, Mrs. DeBourgh and that Phil was excited to have you take on Caroline's exhibit. If I told you who she was, _what choice would I have left you with?_ Either force you to work miserably with someone whom you hate or risk everything that you've worked towards with your job. _How do you think I could do that to you?"_ he fired out, angrily.

"I don't. I mean, I didn't. I didn't think about that…" Beth said, bringing her hand to her temple, processing his point.

 _I hadn't even thought about work. How could I have continued to work with her knowing… And Phil, after everything that had happened, there was no way that he could allow her to drop another client without a serious reprimand._

All she had thought about was how knowing this information had affected her, but now she was finally starting to see the terrible position that Darcy had been stuck in for weeks - not wanting to hurt her by not telling her, yet knowing that telling her would probably hurt her worse, in so many areas.

 _His position had been somewhere between a rock and a hard place…_

"And more than that, your sister is marrying her brother; how could I further put you in that position? Hating her, never wanting to be in the same room as her, yet being forced to because of her tie to Jane. How would you even explain it to Jane? _I thought I could handle it._ "

He paused, catching his breath and his overwhelming emotions that had started to make his voice shake.

"I know," he began again, "how much your sister means to you. I can't…I won't come between that. At least, I tried not to. I swore to myself that this wasn't your problem, this wasn't your fight, and you shouldn't have to suffer any more because of it. Fuck, it's bad enough that you have to suffer with the effects it has left on me. I couldn't let it strain your relationship with Jane…"

Her heart broke at the pain in his voice. He had tried too hard to spare her from it, from the situation they were now in. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do, but she couldn't fault his reasoning; this would put a strain on her relationship with Jane no matter what happened, no matter what they chose to do about Caroline.

"I know. I'm not…" she started, softly, "I'm not mad that you didn't tell me initially; I shouldn't have said that. I can understand why you didn't when she wasn't in your life, in our lives, but once she was… I know that _who_ she is complicates this, complicates how we handle this, but maybe you should have told me when I showed you that she was stalking and harassing me?"

" _God,_ Beth, I tried. I just never fucking expected her to take it this far, this fast. Every day, I expected her to approach me, to contact me, _to harass me_ ; I put so many things in place and then after that one day at the office, there was nothing. I should have known she would jump to something more drastic," Darcy growled. "I'd hoped she wouldn't know about you, but I couldn't ask Charles specifically not to tell her, without raising questions about why. Maybe I would have done that had I known she was going to so aggressively pursue you to get to me. I just wanted to keep you out of this for as long as possible, _I just wanted to protect you."_

"I don't need a protector! _I need a partner!_ " Beth yelled, exasperated.

His eyes shot to hers, fire raging inside of them, his instinct to dominate freed along with his anger. Locking onto her gaze, he stood and walked over to her, stopping to tower in front of her, his face just inches from hers.

Beth didn't back down; she kept his gaze, feeling the heat radiating off of his body. She knew he was aroused, angry, but aroused. Her own anger and frustration had flared but been quickly consumed by the blaze of desire that burned through her with his proximity.

"This is crazy," he whispered harshly before his lips crashed down onto hers.

All of the tension and anger over Caroline strengthened their need for each other, their need for connection; Darcy, afraid that Beth was going to realize that a relationship with him wasn't worth the trials and Beth, afraid that he would never be able to have complete faith in her after what Caro had put him through. Their frustration fueled their passion.

Her response was immediate, kissing him back, showing him physically just how she felt. Their tongues sparred back and forth, each trying to take control. Her arms looped around his neck, his hands threading themselves through her hair, clasping her head and angling her mouth under his so he could delve even further into its warm, moist depths.

 _This was all she wanted, to be with him and to forget about the world._

Beth groaned as she felt Darcy pull back from the kiss, her face still clasped between his hands, his forehead coming to rest gently on hers.

"What do you want me to do, Beth?" he asked hoarsely, his eyes shut as he tried to reign in his desire and frustration.

A quick intake of breath accompanied her shock at his question.

 _He was asking her what to do? He wanted her to give him direction?_

As much as she warmed at the full control he was giving her over the situation and how he handled it, she didn't know what to do.

"I want…No, I need you to make this decision with me," she replied softly, her hands moving down to cup his face, "I don't know what to do but whatever it is, I want us to decide and move forward together - no more holding things back, no more one-sided decisions."

His eyes opened, their molten chocolate boring into hers, his need for her written all over her face. He didn't respond - verbally, that is. Ever so slowly, his lips descended onto hers, kissing her softly in agreement, in a silent promise to move forward together.

Beth sighed into the kiss for a moment, relishing the gentle caress of his lips on hers, the soft, unspoken acquiescence of the embrace. It was just for a moment though; she'd been on edge all afternoon, forcibly constraining her emotions so that she didn't confront Caroline. Then, after leaving, her thoughts and feelings had run rampant - anger, confusion, and frustration overwhelming her senses; the tidal wave of sensations only exacerbated by Darcy's arrival. The only thing that had brought her peace was his kiss and her desire for him; it was the only constant, the only thing that she knew for sure that was real, the only thing she knew for sure how to handle.

 _And the only way to handle that kind of desire was to let it engulf her._

Her tongue pushed against the crease of his lips, demanding entrance - _demanding more._ Beth wanted to be consumed by him; it was the only thing that felt safe, and she knew that he felt the same. At the first press of her tongue, everything about his embrace changed. His hold on her tightened and tensed, his kiss intensified, her lips opening to his tongue as it began the familiar dance with hers.

She was on edge, needing more, faster. Her hand left his face, roaming impatiently down to his chest, trying frantically to unbutton his shirt. In her haste, one of the buttons popped off, causing her to gasp against his mouth.

"Just rip it," Darcy murmured into their kiss.

Beth didn't need any further encouragement, pulling forcefully on his shirt, letting the last three buttons fly from their perch. She didn't even bother to try and pull the shirt off of him, her hands immediately reaching for the hard planes of his chest. Beth moaned at the feel of his hot skin underneath her fingers. Her fingers played across his chest, rubbing over his flat nipples, then down across his sculpted abdomen to the edge of his pants. She heard his breath catch, feeling his pants move underneath her fingers as his erection swelled larger, achingly close to where she was touching him.

Not to get ahead of himself, Beth felt his hand slide down the length of her back, coming to rest briefly on her ass. Grasping the soft flesh, he pulled her firmly against his hips, letting her feel the hard ridge of his erection, trapping her hands between them, preventing her from exploring any farther.

"I need you," Beth panted into his kiss.

" _I am yours,"_ was his response.

His words brought another rush of hot liquid from between her thighs, forcing her to shift her stance, trying to press her legs closer together to ease the ache between them. Knowing, his hand moved farther down to grasp her thigh underneath the edge of her sweater dress, pushing the material up and over her hip. Shifting slightly, he moved his hand between them, right to the center of her need.

She gasped loudly as she felt his fingers delving between her slick folds, her legs almost collapsing out from underneath her as he began to ease the burning ache inside. Waves of stinging heat made her head spin and feel as if she were going to pass out. Her arms came up to clasp around his neck, anchoring her to the only thing that seemed stable in the room right now.

Beth couldn't focus; she pulled her face back from his kiss, her senses completely overwhelmed. Her forehead fell to his shoulder as his mouth began to kiss a trail down her jawline to her neck.

His mouth latched on to the silken skin at the base of her neck, while his fingers latched on to the soft bud that was the beacon of her desire. Simultaneously, he sucked on her neck while pulling on her clit, the sensations from both coursing up and down her body, driving her crazy.

" _Please, Darcy,"_ she moaned.

Her plea earning her a small bite on her neck as he pushed two fingers deep inside her. Gasping, her hands moved to his shoulders, squeezing tightly on the thick muscles as her desire built.

"Let me take you to bed," Darcy suggested softly, recognizing her inability to remain upright.

His fingers continued to stroke the inside of her passage, fueling the fire that was raging inside of her. It took a moment for her to realize what he said, but she caught him just as he'd begun to move.

"No!" she insisted, " _I want you here, I need you now."_

His eyes locked with hers, turning completely black as her words stoked his desire.

" _As you wish._ " And then his mouth captured hers.

Toying mercilessly with her clit, Beth saw stars as her core clenched, begging for release. Overwhelmed with the pleasure that was swiftly launching her towards her climax, she didn't even realize as Darcy's other hand moved between them to free his straining erection from his pants.

Her sharp intake of breath accompanied the loss of his fingers from inside of her, as he picked her up, locking her legs around his waist; a split second later feeling the hard, blunt head of his penis teasing her entrance.

" _You are mine,_ " he said as he thrust deep inside of her.

Beth heard herself breath a moan of relief now that the emptiness inside of her was filled.

" _Fuckkk you are so warm and tight. I can't…"_ Darcy hissed as he almost clumsily dropped down to his knees.

Looking up at him, Beth saw the sweat that had bloomed over his skin, watching his eyes dart to the couch that was only a few feet away.

" _Here,"_ she said firmly, her voice hoarse with desire, while flexing her passage around him.

Beth watched as his eyes closed and his face contorted with pleasure as her wet core muscles massaged his penis. Suddenly, she felt the cool, hardwood underneath her back, Darcy's hands gripping her hips as he began to thrust frantically, uncontrollably into her.

Her response was immediate, her body right back on the edge of orgasm where his fingers had left her. Head and shoulders arching back against the hard floor, her hips tried to lift and pull him even deeper inside of her.

 _Please, Darcy…_

Every last nerve ending was on edge, her skin feeling every movement of the fabric of her sweater as it cruelly abraded the soft, sensitive skin of her stomach and chest; her muscles feeling every pulse of blood as it pumped through her; her core feeling the incredible friction of his flesh joining with hers. She couldn't even speak, the building pleasure was paralyzing; her body took over, moving, arching, clenching - doing whatever it needed for release. Her heart beating so hard, she swore it must be skipping beats. Vaguely she felt one of his hands move from her hip towards her clit.

" _Come."_ His fingers massaged the aching bud for only a second, but it sent her screaming into her orgasm.

Palms pressing into the floor, her hips arched against him, her muscles stuck in contraction as the waves of her climax rolled through her.

" _Holy fuck!"_ His yell reverberating through the room, shattering the silence, as he slammed inside her one more time before succumbing to his own mind-blowing release.

Darcy groaned, collapsing on top of her. They lay on the floor like that for a few minutes, their chests colliding as they both struggled to regain their breath.

"That was incredible," Beth whispered, still in amazement.

"God, you have no idea," was his hoarse response.

He groaned, "I'm such an ass for taking you on the floor. I should have made it to the couch."

"I didn't want you to," she responded, coyly, running her fingernails up the length of his back, enjoying as he shivered and his erection flexed still inside of her.

"I know," he said, propping himself up to look down at her. He gently kissed her lips, then her chin, then along her jawline up to her ear. "I'm still going to make it up to you though," he promised, biting the supple skin of her earlobe.

She gasped, causing her muscles to flex around him.

"Fuck," he said harshly, pulling out of her. "I can't have you tormenting me like that or this will be over far too soon."

Her eyes shot open, trying to turn her head to face him.

 _Again?!_

As if he sensed her thought, he smiled against her neck just before Beth felt herself suddenly lifted off of the floor. Darcy shuffled them over to set her down on the couch. Stepping back, he shed his shirt and began to remove his shoes and pants.

"Take off your clothes," he instructed, his eyes glinting dangerously.

She eagerly complied with his request, watching him come to her with the promise of pleasure burning hotly in his gaze.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Beth stepped carefully out of the steam-filled shower, her legs still wobbly from the numerous orgasms that she'd experienced in the past few hours. The time had been a reprieve, a momentary shelter from the storm of craziness that had engulfed them.

 _At least they had each other._

As they had lain on the couch, both too sated to move, her thoughts had drifted back to the drawing in Caroline's room, anger pooling in her stomach. She kept telling herself that it wasn't Darcy's fault that Caroline had kept her drawing of him; they had been in a relationship and she couldn't be angry with him for that. It just hurt to think of him being with another woman that way, another woman who was currently trying to resume that role in his life as Beth's expense. The thoughts finally causing Beth to stir from her comfortable perch resting on Darcy's chest, getting up to take a shower.

 _Because showers are one of, if not the best place to sort out problems._

Maybe Caroline had wanted Beth to see it, then again, judging from how brazen she has been already with her threats, she probably would have said something to Beth if that was the case. No, for whatever her insane reasons, Caro wanted to keep Beth in the dark as to who she was.

 _Maybe to use it as leverage._

 _Maybe to use it as proof that Darcy doesn't love Beth, otherwise he would have told her._

At that thought, Beth began to vigorously towel dry her hair, berating herself for not having faith in Darcy. He hadn't told her because he was trying to protect her on so many levels, _she knew that._ But, now that she did know, what were they going to do. They couldn't just wait around for Caro to make her next move.

Tying the sash on her robe, she left the bathroom in search of Darcy and something to eat - finding both in the living room.

"Feel better?" he asked as she entered the room, taking a seat on the couch.

"Yes, thank you," Beth replied, picking up the plate of food he had made for her off of the coffee table.

"This is delicious," she moaned, enjoying her first bite of whatever deliciously concocted panini he had put together, "what's in this?"

"It's a secret," he said playfully, pausing for a moment before answering her. "Chicken with some apple and brie."

"Mmmm" was the only thing Beth could respond with, her mouth full from her second bite.

"Glad you like it," he said with a laugh, watching her wipe some melted cheese off the side of her mouth from taking too large of a bite.

"I do," she said softly. "So, what are we going to do about Caroline?"

His face shadowed again at her question, turning to look out the windows in deep thought about the situation facing them.

 _It had to come back to this sooner or later._

"Are you sure she doesn't know what you saw?" he asked sharply.

"Yes. She wasn't home when I was up there and I avoided her most of the party," Beth explained.

"Right, but do you think avoiding her gave her any indication that something was wrong?"

"I don't know… I don't think so. I mean I talked to her and pretended as best that I could that everything was ok. I didn't know what else to do, but no, I don't think she could know that I've figured out who she is," Beth replied, swallowing thickly, trying to remember everything about the party, every interaction with Caroline, to see if, in her shock and anger, she gave something away.

"Caroline is the most manipulative person I've ever met, and naturally, she assumes that everyone else is as conniving and secretive as she is, so, I'm sure she suspects that something is up if you avoided her, but hopefully nothing more than that…"

"I tried to play it off as more relationship problems, as well as the party, keeping me occupied. I can't say for sure, but I really don't think she can have any legitimate reason to believe that I've figured out part of her game."

"Well, until we figure the rest of it out, I hope that remains the case."

"I don't know how to handle her, handle this - I'm barely handling myself at the moment, but I do know that I have to tell Jane…" Beth said, reservedly.

She'd been going back and forth about it for most of the time she'd been in the shower. Should she tell her sister or not? Knowing how much of an impact it would have on Jane's personal life, her relationship with her future in-laws, her relationship with her husband, it had been a difficult to willingly choose to give her that burden; but, now that Jane knew the issues and veiled threats passing between Beth and Darcy's ex, there was no way around not being completely open with her.

"Lying about it to her would only go so far," she continued, "now that she knows about the threats, even if I lied to her, she would wonder why nothing was being done; no, she wouldn't accept that nothing is being done about it."

"Are you sure?"

"No, but I don't know that surety in this situation is possible. I know it's going to hurt her, but not even Charles knows about your relationship and based on what Caroline has said to me, she won't hesitate to go after Jane if I don't leave you which puts Jane in danger, especially if she is blindsided by it. Telling her is going to be difficult, but it's not going to be as dangerous as keeping it from her."

"Ok," Darcy replied, solemnly.

"Ok? That's it?" Beth asked, flabbergasted by his lack of input, lack of direction.

"Beth, she is your sister, you know her best. Not only do I think that you are the only one capable of making the most informed decision on this part of the issue, I agree with you," he explained coolly, "I've kept this from so many people for so long, and look where it has gotten me. I really thought that when she left me, she left my life for good, that I would never have to deal with any more repercussions from that relationship, but I was wrong."

He paused, his hands coming up to run over his face, trying not to let his anger and frustration overwhelm him.

"I tried to protect you, protect your family, but I failed," he said bitterly.

"Darcy, you didn't fail. How could you stop her? You can't control her, it's not your fault. We need to come up with a plan together, now that everything is out in the open and just move forward."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, first, I need to tell Jane. It's just gotten beyond the point where I'm able to keep it from here, where it's safe to keep it from her," Beth began, thinking out loud, "then, I want to ask her what she knows about Caro's relationship with their parents."

"Why?"

"Just some comments that Mrs. Bingley made at Jane's party. There's something going on, something I think that has to do with why she's suddenly back in the states and trying to get back into your life," Beth mused.

"What did she say?"

"Nothing specific, but my mother and she were commiserating about daughters who don't listen. I mentioned Caro's exhibit next weekend and Mrs. Bingley said that they wouldn't be going, that she'd hoped Caro returning was to mend things with her family, but that it was actually financially motivated."

"I see," he responded pensively, his jaw flexing as he processed what she revealed.

"I know it's not much, but Jane was telling me the other day how Charles has been putting out fires between his parents and sister and I just have a feeling that Jane either knows or could easily find out why she is here, why she wants you back so suddenly."

This time he didn't respond, his eyes closed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"What do you think? Do you think she could be after your money?"

"Honestly, I have no fucking clue," Darcy laughed harshly, "I mean, you know their family, they aren't poor by any means but then again Caroline doesn't really have a job aside from her art so, if she has a falling out with them, she may be left without anything, and although I can't see them doing that to her, you never know."

"Well, she did move to Italy and live there for years only by selling her art - that I know of, so she must have been getting funds from somewhere for living expenses; most likely I would assume her family."

"I was never privy to much about her relationship with her family before she left. She was with me for one reason, and one reason only," he said acidly, disgust contorting his gorgeous features as he remembered how foolish he had been.

Beth stood and walked over to kneel in front of the chair that Darcy had sat in, pulling his fisted hands between hers, forcing them to open so that she could hold them.

"I'll ask Jane," she replied calmly, squeezing his hands supportively, "I have to tell her about Caroline and I just have this feeling that there is more to Caro's return. If you would have heard the way that her mom talked about her…trust me, I've heard my mother insinuate about my sister and I enough times to know when there is something serious hidden behind a critical and sarcastic comment."

"And if it is money, then what? How is that going to help, knowing that she doesn't actually want me, again?"

"I don't know," Beth replied honestly, not having thought that far through her plan yet.

After a moment of thought, she continued, "Well, if that is the case, then maybe Charles would be able to talk to their parents, tell them what Caroline is doing and convince them to give her whatever she must have already asked them for?"

His eyes flared at her suggestion.

"Darcy, it's ok to need help, to ask for help. Some things are more important than making sure you are the one in control," Beth continued, hitting on exactly what his silent frustration was stemming from.

"I know, just… _fuck,"_ he whispered, his head dropping for a moment before rising to catch her eyes, "you are the most important thing to me. So, whatever needs to be done to make sure _you_ are ok, I will do."

To emphasize his point, or to seal his promise, Darcy leaned forward and captured her lips in a tender kiss, assuring her that no matter how hard it was for him, he would follow through on whatever course of action they decided on.

"It's going to be ok," Beth whispered, pulling back from his embrace. "What if even Charles could just talk to her and get her to see that what she is doing is crazy? I mean, he can't…won't…approve of her actions once he knows."

"Maybe."

"Or maybe he will have another idea on how to handle this - it is his sister, after all," Beth concluded, biting her lip before continuing, "so, you never told Charles about your relationship with Caro?"

"No," Darcy said flatly, his eyes darkening.

"Why not? Even after it was over?"

"She never wanted anyone to know when we were together and I didn't give a damn either way. Afterwards, I wanted to forget about her and that part of my life; I barely could recognize who I was then." He paused to take a deep breath. "That relationship almost cost me my friendship with Charles as it was. He was pretty upset when his sister left and it seemed pointless to tell him then and only add to his misery."

 _Always trying to protect those he cares about._

Beth squeezed his hands again, grateful that he was being open with her about his past.

"Do you think he's going to be upset when he finds out?" As much as she didn't want to bring up the inevitable, he needed to start to think about how he was going to explain this to his friend.

"I don't know…" He hadn't even thought about how Charles would respond. It had been almost 6 years since his relationship with Caro had ended, but not having told him in all of that time, never giving him the full explanation of what had happened to him…the result of which could have an impact on their friendship, and not for the better.

"Why does Caroline have that drawing of you?" Beth blurted out, unable to stop herself before the words were out.

Taken aback, Darcy's head shot up, his gaze searing right through hers, burning with the denial he ached to give her, trying to leave the painful memories of his past behind.

"Because she drew it," he began, his gaze dropping from hers in embarrassment, "it was how we started becoming close. We realized that we were both interested in art and one time, she asked me to sit for her, and that was that. We would draw each other from time to time, less so as the years went on."

"I see," Beth said softly, her throat thick with the new rise of tears threatening to fall.

 _They'd been so close, sharing their art between them, something that very few people knew about Darcy._

It hurt to know that Caro had been a big instigator and a big part of that area of his life.

"It wasn't like that…all the time," he struggled to continue, knowing that she wanted the truth even though it was hurting her, "we bonded over it, but only in the beginning. I was focused on my business for the most part, and she continued to focus on her art, deciding that I had better uses, and finding better toys…muses…for her work. I didn't even think she had any of me left; I burned any and everything that was of her, or was hers, the day that she left. I thought I had destroyed all her pieces of me - I didn't want anyone finding them in her studio, so she always left them with me, but I guess she must have taken one."

"So, she could have more of them?" Beth asked, her tears threatening to spill over.

 _God, she was ridiculous. It's not like she hadn't already seen the drawing. Why was she getting so upset about this?_

Because it hurts to hear how close to him she was.

 _They were together for years, Beth. What did you expect? Be reasonable._

"I doubt it," he said quickly, " _fuck,_ I mean, she could but I just don't see how. It wasn't that many times. Unless she redrew it from memory and put it there, hoping that you would see it."

"Do you think she would do that?"

"God, I don't know. Maybe. If she's trying to get you to leave me, and threatening you isn't working, maybe she's decided to just try and make you hate me instead," he paused to laugh coldly, "I wish I could say that I was confident that it wasn't working…"

Ever so softly, his hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing the soft skin, watching as she tried to blink away her tears. One escaped, fleeing down onto his thumb. He pulled his hand, and the remnant of her tear, away and up to his face, his knuckles fisting, resting on his mouth in pained reflection.

"I don't hate you. It's just a lot to take in, that's all…" Beth said hesitantly, wishing she could reassure him more, but emotions were all over the place. "I'm going to text Jane and see if she is available for dinner tomorrow; I need to tell her in person."

She changed the subject for the both of them, trying to focus on the future, moving forward, instead of dwelling on all of her questions about his past that would only serve to make her doubt him.

Darcy just nodded, watching as Beth stood up to go in search of her phone, wondering at what point she would go in search of her freedom.

 _Hey, are you free tomorrow night after work?_

 _\- I can be. Usually, Charles and I grab dinner together but we have no definite plans. What's up?_

 _I just thought we could grab dinner and talk…about my whole situation._

 _\- Oh, ok. Of course. Just come over when you're done with work and we can figure something out._

 _Great, see you tomorrow!_

Beth set her phone down on the coffee table, coming up behind Darcy as he stood looking out the window of the penthouse, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"What did she say?"

"I asked if she was free tomorrow night to talk about what's going on and she said that she was, so I'm going over there after work to grab dinner together."

He nodded, resigned to her plan.

"I can tell her not to say anything to Charles if you want…if you want to be the one to tell him," Beth suggested, knowing that his and Charles' relationship could be the next casualty in this nightmare if it wasn't handled properly.

"Fuck, I should," Darcy began, "I just…I'd rather hear what Jane has to say first, if she knows the whole story behind why Caro is here."

Beth couldn't help herself from wincing every time he used her nickname, wondering if he had always called her that, wondering if he'd called her that while she was drawing him, naked.

"I don't want him to feel like he has to choose between his sister and me, when it comes to divulging information or not," Darcy continued, oblivious to Beth's momentary discomfort, "if Jane can figure out why Caroline is here, then I can go to him knowing all the information and asking him for help on the best way to handle it; I can go to him without having to ask him to pick a side."

Even though she was sure that he couldn't have felt her slight twitch, it was as if his subconscious had picked up on her response, causing him to switch from 'Caro' to 'Caroline'.

"Ok, I understand, I'll tell her."

Beth rested her head against his back, feeling him exhale deeply. She clung a bit tighter to him for a moment before dropping her arms, reaching for one of his hands.

"Take me to bed?" she asked softly, suggestively.

That was all it took for the spark to be lit in his eyes, reflected in the glass. He turned toward her, his expression turning molten with desire as he followed her into their bedroom, their refuge, the one place where they only had each other.

 _Hi everyone! Thanks for reading and all of your feedback! I'd love to hear your guys opinion of how the story has unraveled so far? Do you think I should have written it where Darcy told Beth sooner who Caroline was, or did you enjoy the story how it currently is?_

 _Thanks!_


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 _Impatient._ The only word, Beth could use to describe her Monday. Her brain was truly annoying her, taking any and every spare moment to jump to a new conclusion about what was financially motivating Caroline. The blessed moments where she was forced to focus on her work, on her clients, became fewer and farther in-between as the day progressed. Which meant that all day she was impatiently waiting for the workday to be done so she could leave to talk to Jane.

There was, now that she thought about it, one other positive of the day - no contact with Caroline, her client or the crazy-bitch alter ego. Which was, honestly, a little concerning to Beth after what Darcy had said last night.

 _What if she suspected?_

 _Maybe I was too cold, too standoffish. What if I gave something away?_

On the other hand, if Caroline knew that she had been discovered, you would think that she would have upped her game immediately, that she would have approached or contacted Beth right away. Unless she had something else planned, something more devious.

 _Oh my God, Beth, just relax. Who knows what is going through her head, all you can worry about is what you DO know and right now, that is that Caroline still thinks she has the upper hand._

 _Right_ , Beth closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Tapping her foot impatiently, she hit the home button on her phone to check the time.

 _Four-thirty._

And a text from Darcy.

 _Why hadn't she heard her phone buzz?_

 _Probably because you are busy obsessing over what Caroline MIGHT or MIGHT NOT know, MIGHT or MIGHT NOT do._

Opening up the message, she let Darcy do what he did best - distract her.

- _How's your day going, sweetheart?_

She smiled at his endearment, even though his question was laced with the unspoken need to know if Caroline had contacted her in any way today.

 _So far, so good. Just about to head over to Jane's._

 _\- Are you sure you don't want me to take you?_

 _Yes, I'll be fine, I promise. I'll text you later and let you know when I'll be home._

 _\- I'll be waiting._

She shivered at his words, the thought of what would be waiting for her when she got home tonight. It was crazy that in spite of everything going on, in spite of everything that he had done, the thought of seeing him, of being with him, still lit a fire deep down inside of her, giving her goosebumps in anticipation. She relished it, hoping that it would always be like this.

Checking her email one last time, she packed up her things, finally heading out for the day towards the answers she prayed were waiting for her.

 _On my way._

She sent the text to Jane before throwing her phone in her purse, turning off the lights in her office and heading downstairs to the lobby where her friendly, security escorts were awaiting her.

 _That she was looking forward to doing without._

Twenty minutes later, the car was pulling up in front of her old apartment as Beth's hands fidgeted in her lap, barely waiting for the car to come to a complete stop before opening the door and getting out - hastily apologizing to her security for not following protocol and letting them open the door for her.

Her foot tapped as she waited for the elevator, it tapped as the elevator ascended to her sister's floor, and it tapped while she waited for Jane to open the door.

"Hey!" Jane greeted her, giving her a hug before moving back and ushering Beth into the apartment.

"Hey," Beth responded, setting her purse and laptop bag down along the wall in the hallway, "thanks for moving things around so that we could do dinner and talk."

"Of course!"

"Do you just want to order Chinese?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Jane agreed, "why don't you sit down and I'll grab the menu."

"You don't have to; I'll just get my usual. I haven't had Chinese food in so long!"

Beth went into the living room, slumping down on the couch, letting out a huge sigh. Honestly, she wasn't even hungry; she was too on edge, dying to see if Jane knew anything about Caroline, but she had to have this discussion carefully. Caro was going to be Jane's sister-in-law; she couldn't just blurt out that she also happens to be a psycho and then ask her to divulge family secrets.

Her foot began to tap again, listening as she heard Jane call the restaurant and order their food. The minute or two she was on the phone felt like an hour to Beth, anxiously waiting to get this conversation started. Remembering that she should probably let Darcy know that she was here - safe and sound - Beth pulled out her phone and sent him a quick text that Jane was just ordering them dinner and that she would call when they were done.

Beth exhaled deeply as Jane finally entered the living room, just realizing that she'd been holding her breath ever since she heard Jane hang up the phone.

"So what's going on? Did you talk to Darcy? Did you go to the police?" Jane asked immediately as she sat down on the couch to face Beth.

 _Wow, is my stress that obvious? …Probably._

"I did talk to Darcy, but we haven't gone to the police," Beth answered.

Beth watched her sister's brow furrow in confusion, anticipating the question that was about to follow.

"Why not? I don't understand."

Beth froze, staring into her sister's questioning gaze. She'd known the question was coming. For how much she had been looking forward to the conversation all day, she hadn't actually stopped to think about how exactly to tell Jane about Caroline; how to break the news as gently as possibly that Charles' sister was they cause of her distress. And now, that the moment had come, her mind blanked, words choking in her throat, unable to articulate an answer.

"Beth? Why didn't you go to the police? What's going on?" Jane persisted, her voice sounding more worried as she reached over and grabbed Beth's hand.

The touch of her sister's hand jarred Beth from her daze, bringing her into the moment and the required necessity of her answer.

"I'm sorry, Jane," she began, her words hoarse for a moment before her throat warmed up to the idea of confessions, "I talked to Darcy, but we can't go to the police. At least, not now, not before I talked to you. What, umm, I have to tell you is going to come as a shock and I debated trying to keep this from you, at least for a time, but circumstances being what they are, I just want you to know that I'm sorry and if I could prevent any of this from affecting your life, I would."

"You're starting to really worry me, Beth, just tell me. Whatever it is, I can handle it," Jane pleaded, hardly hearing Beth's apology through her desire to know what was going on.

Beth broke her gaze from Jane's, looking down at their hands for a moment, before continuing, "Darcy's ex, the one who's been threatening me… it's Caroline."

Saying it out loud was terrifying and empowering at the same time; terrifying because this vague concept of a woman was now finally made concrete, yet empowering because that same knowledge now gave her the power to deal with the situation.

Jane stared at her for a moment before comprehension dawned, her mouth opening on a gasp covered quickly by her hand. Beth held her breath as she watched the color drain from her sister's face.

"I'm sorry, Jane, I didn't know and then when I did, I wanted to keep it from you - at least until after the wedding. I don't want to hurt you or hurt your relationship with Charles, but the more I thought about it, and talked to Darcy, the more I realized that you need to know. I'm so sorry," Beth rambled on, biting her lip to stop the words from tumbling out, trying to give her sister a moment to process the information bomb she'd just dropped on her.

Jane still wasn't responding; her hand had come up to cover her gaping mouth, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Jane…" Beth prompted softly, really starting to worry if this had been the best idea.

Jane's eyes darted to hers, finally seeing her sister's concern.

"I'm sorry, Beth, I just… I don't understand… How… Why?" Jane's soft, troubled voice permeated the frozen silence that had overtaken the apartment.

"I know, sweetie," Beth said, squeezing her sister's hands again, trying to reassure her, "I don't understand either…"

"So, she's the one who…hurt Darcy? God, I just don't understand…" Jane asked, her brain struggling to accept that it was Charles' sister who had done those things.

"Yes."

"And this whole time she's been back, she's been the one harassing you?"

"Yes."

"Oh my God, and she was…is… your client!" Jane said in shocked concern, "Beth! How can you continue to work with her? Aren't you afraid of what she might do?"

"I don't know. I just found out who she really is; I don't know how I'm going to continue to work with her, but I'm going to have to find a way, at least through this coming weekend," Beth responded, not having really thought about dealing with Caro as a client.

"I don't understand. How could Darcy not tell you? Especially once he knew that you were working so closely with her?"

 _This was even harder than she thought it was going to be._

"He was trying to protect me," Beth offered, but continued as she saw her sister's unsatisfied expression, "Jane, you have to understand how much she traumatized him all those years ago. He just wants to leave that part of his life behind him, which is why he didn't tell me initially - what purpose would it have served? She was in Europe, had had no contact with him for years, the only thing telling me about her would have done would have been to cloud my impression of Charles and his family."

"Ok, I _can_ understand than - leaving the past in the past, but when she came home? Why not then? When she specifically requested _you_ to work with, why not then?"

"Again, it had been years since they'd even seen each other. Why would he think that she came back for him? Why would he think that she only wanted to work with me to get close to me, to be able to harass me? There was no indication, a concern, I'm sure, based on their past relationship, but no legitimate indication that after so many years she would end up doing something like this. From every aspect, she had come home because you and Charles are getting married and she wanted to be a part of that, and what better way to get to know your in-laws than to work with them?" Beth rushed on, trying to make Jane see the situation from their perspective. "On top of all that, what would have happened with my job, had he told me? I probably would have cut her off as my client; I would have had to go to Phil, yet again, and tell him that for personal reasons I couldn't do my job. I know Phil thinks of us as family, but that can't happen again without serious consequences. Why would Darcy choose to jeopardize my job, my work, with no basis?"

 _Boy, having to explain and justify Darcy's point of view was really giving her some perspective on what he must have gone through._

"Ok, Beth, fine; I'll accept that, but when she started threatening you? There is no good reason why he didn't tell you," Jane responded in frustration.

"Maybe you're right, there probably is no _good_ reason," Beth acquiesced with a sigh, "but, just like before, he was trying to protect me, as ironic as that might seem."

"How does keeping you in the dark protect you?"

"It wasn't just about protecting me; it was about protecting you and I; it was about protecting you and Charles, and him and Charles; it was about protecting everyone he cares about from his past and his mistakes," Beth replied, her sister still looking at her with disbelief, "just hear me out, please. First, she only approached him, tried to talk to him and he thought he could handle it - typical man. He swore that she didn't want him back, that there was an ulterior motive, which is why when she first started contacting me, I didn't tell him - so that part is on me."

"I can't believe you wouldn't—"

"I know, please, just let me finish," Beth cut her sister off, otherwise she'd never get through this. "When it finally progressed to threats, Darcy tried to convince me that he could handle it, that the police didn't need to be involved, and that's when we fought about the restraining order."

"How could he want to protect you, but then not do what it necessary to protect you?" Jane interjected angrily.

 _She wasn't getting it. She's blinded by her own desire to protect me, God love her._

"Jane, then who would you have chosen to come to your wedding?!" Beth practically yelled, jumping to the point since it looked like Jane wasn't patient enough for Beth to try and explain the consequences to her gently.

Jane was taken aback by her outburst. Her initial shock dissipating as the reality of Beth's words sank in.

"Oh…no…" Jane whispered, just as a knock sounded on the front door.

Deciding to let that little reality check sink in, Beth stood up.

"I'll get the food, you stay…" Beth mumbled as she headed to the door, paying the delivery man and bring the food back into the living room.

Setting the bag down on the coffee table, Beth looked at her sister, who was staring up at her in a daze.

"Oh my God, Beth, what are we going to do?" she whispered, clearly stricken at the thought of one the sisters not being presents on her wedding day.

"Shh, Jane, it's going to be ok, that's why I'm here. We're going to figure this out," Beth reassured her, opening up the bag of food and taking out a carton of lo mein noodles for each of them.

"This is why we haven't gone to the police, because one of us wouldn't be able to attend your wedding, and I can't…won't…do that to you or Charles," Beth continued, taking a bite of her food.

"So, that's why he finally decided to tell you…" Jane mumbled, opening up her carton.

"Well, not exactly," Beth said, raising her eyebrows at the that unfortunate fact, "I found out, before he could tell me."

"How did you find out? Did Caro…" Jane trailed off, fork paused half-way to her mouth, waiting for Beth's response.

"No, she didn't say or do anything," Beth reassured her, "it was right before your party. I went upstairs to look for the party favors, and went into Caro's bedroom by mistake. She has a drawing of Darcy on her wall…" Beth took another bite of her dinner, trying to mask the nausea that still accompanied that memory. "She doesn't know that I know."

 _Jane didn't need to know everything about the drawing; it's definitely not pleasant to admit out loud that her future sister-in-law has a drawing of my boyfriend, naked, on her bedroom wall._

"Oh, Beth…" The sympathy in Jane's eyes almost brought her to tears.

"It's fine. It was a long time ago; I can't blame him for it. Either way, this is where we are. I know who she is, but she doesn't know that I do," Beth powered through, "right or wrong, this was the exact situation that Darcy was trying to save me…us…from. Now, we have to figure out how to stop her, without going to the police, otherwise either you or Charles are going to be without a sister on your wedding day."

"I don't understand how Charles could be ok with what she did," Jane said, perplexed, her mind still drifting through all the implications of Beth's confession.

"Jane… Charles doesn't know," Beth said softly, "he can't know; at least not right now."

"Wait, what? How could he not know? Oh, my God…" Jane trailed off to a moment of silence before continuing, "all this time, he's admired her, looked up to her, all the while she was using and tormenting those he cared about most."

Her last words came out choked, stifled by her shock and grief at how this news was going to affect her fiancé.

"No one knew about their relationship; Caro insisted it be that way. So, Charles has no idea and, before you ask, no, Darcy never told him even once she had left for Italy. Charles had just lost his sister, what would be the point in dragging his opinion of her through the mud? No matter how much she deserved it…"

"Are you going to tell Charles? I can't keep this from him."

Beth could see the pain written all over Jane's face at the thought of keeping something from her future husband.

 _Now, if only Darcy and she could think like that…_

"Yes, Darcy is, but not yet. So, please, if you could just not say anything for a little while. We want to try to handle this with the least amount of damage to others' relationships as possible."

"I don't know, Beth…" Jane started. Beth sent her most desperately pleading stare, praying Jane wouldn't fight her on this. "I guess, for a little while…" Jane finally agreed.

"Thank you. I just think Darcy needs to be the one to tell him and that's a pretty big secret to have kept from your best friend, especially when it involves his sister; Darcy's worried it will irreparably damage their friendship," Beth confided.

"Yeah, I don't know… I'm sorry. I'm just still so in shock that it's _Caroline_ that we are talking about; I don't even know how Charles will react."

"So, moving forward," Beth began on a new breath, ready to steer the conversation in a different direction, "we have a plan. Sort of."

"Ok…"

"Darcy is adamant that Caro isn't really back for or interested in him, no matter what she says to him or I; he is convinced that it is all part of a charade, that she is trying to get him back for another reason," she said, laying the groundwork, "I really was struggling to believe that because what else could she need him for, but then at your party, when I was talking to Mrs. Bingley, she alluded to the fact that Caroline had returned to the states for financial reasons."

Here Beth trailed off, watching intently for Jane's response. Then mention of financial struggles brought a flicker of recognition to her sister's eyes, a shadow of a thought crossing her face.

"If we can find out what that reason is, then maybe we can figure out a better way to deal with this situation than by going to the police or just waiting like sitting ducks for Caroline to move forward with whatever her plans are."

"I see…" Jane said.

Beth was really hoping her sister would have offered more information, but she should know Jane better than that by now.

"Jane, I know I've laid so much on you, and asked so much of you already, but I have to ask, do you know why Caroline is back?"

Jane's face shuddered away for a moment before she responded, "I…I'm not sure."

"I know what I'm asking of you. I know that these are your future in-laws and it's their family business whatever is going on, but I'm begging you; you know what she has done to Darcy, what she has done and threatened to do to me, we're just trying to end this with the least amount of damage as possible. Please. If you know why she is here, please, tell me."

Jane let out a deep sigh, her face falling momentarily into her hands, "I'm sorry. I understand why you are asking and I…I want to help. I don't know everything though; Charles never finished telling me the other night. All I know is that yes, she is back because she couldn't afford to stay in Italy any longer."

"Did her parents cut her off?"

"No, it wasn't like that. When they refused to back her art all those years ago, she left and they haven't given her any money since then. I think Charles' grandmother was supporting her, and then left her money, I'm assuming, after she died. I don't know what happened though, if the money ran out or what, but I do know that Caro came back because her art, while popular over there, wasn't making enough to support her lifestyle."

"So she came back to ask her parents to support her?"

"That's what I don't know. It certainly makes sense, but it's just not the impression I got from what information Charles did tell me; it didn't seem like she was back to ask them for money, or that she had asked them for money," Jane responded, perplexed.

 _Interesting._

There had to be more going on. Granted, Jane didn't know everything, but at least she'd been able to give her confirmation that Caro was, indeed, back looking for money.

"So, maybe she wants Darcy back so that she has access to his money…" Beth surmised.

"Maybe," Jane agreed.

"I'm so sorry, Jane. I know this is hard for you, how much you liked Caro and were looking forward to gaining her as a sister. I hate to have ruined that," Beth lamented, guilt washing over her for putting Jane in this position.

"It's not your fault, Beth. _You_ are my sister, and as much as I'm angry and disappointed to lose that connection to Charles' family, I'm thankful that you told me; I don't want to grow close to someone who has been so deceitful and cruel."

"I know; I've still put you in a difficult place," Beth continued, "and I'm going to ask even more of you."

Jane's eyes widened, wondering what else there could possibly be.

"I want you to try and find out from Charles what Caroline's plan is; I need to know why she is after Darcy for his money instead of just asking her parents. Unless she's assuming that they will refuse again, which is a legitimate thought, but if that's the case, clearly, her lifestyle is more important than her art, so why not just change her subject matter to something that her parents are more comfortable with? I just have this feeling that there is a layer that we are missing, that you have access to."

Beth watched Jane bite her lip at the request. She knew she was asking a lot - to keep this from Charles, to share family secrets with her, to investigate into their family problems for the sole purpose of informing on her fiancé's sister.

 _God, she was a terrible sister._

 _No, Caroline is a terrible sister. You are doing what you have to do._

"Please, Jane. I know it's a lot, but it's the only way we can think of to put an end to this. If we can figure out what she really wants, then we can find some other way for her to get it," Beth pleaded. "Of course we've thought of other options, from going to the police, which would estrange either her or I from you and Charles, to explaining the situation to Charles and asking for his help. But, if money from their parents could solve her problems, she would have just asked them by now, don't you think?" Beth paused, taking in a deep breath before finishing her thought, "Knowing Caroline, knowing what she has done to get her own way, I don't want to make decisions or involve people before we truly understand what her plan is; I'm afraid of what will happen, what she will do, if we act based only on our assumptions."

 _It was true. Based on what Darcy had told her, what she had experienced with Caroline, she was devious. If they acted on an unconfirmed assumption, who knows what would be the response? No, they needed to be sure of what exactly was going on; they needed to be just as calculating as she. Unfortunately._

"No, I understand," Jane responded, grabbing her sister's hand again, "I don't want you to think that I feel bad for Caroline or feel guilty for helping you. I'm just still shocked that it was _her._ I know that you haven't even told me all the details of what happened between her and Darcy, and I'm sure I don't know the details of the things she has said to you, but until now, that ex-girlfriend has been almost like a concept in my mind, but now, to have that kind of person attached to reality, attached as my future sister-in-law, is overwhelming."

"I'm sorry, Jane." She didn't know what else to say.

"Don't apologize, Beth!" Jane replied with a self-deprecating laugh, "I can't even imagine how you feel, having all of this happen to you and the person that you love; having someone try to come between you two, and then to find out that that someone is going to be related to you… I just can't imagine."

"We're going to get through this. Now, I just need to figure out how I'm going to survive the rest of this week and Saturday in Caroline's presence without strangling her," Beth said, semi in jest to try and lighten the conversation.

"I'll try to find out from Charles before then. Monday is usually our night together until Friday, so it might not be until then. I don't want to have to lie to him, so I don't want to just call him up and ask because he'll wonder why. I figured he might tell me more about the situation tonight, but then I canceled on him because you needed to come over, so hopefully Friday night I'll find out," Jane said, biting her lip nervously.

"Ok," Beth said, relieved to finally have some semblance of control over this situation. "If you don't feel comfortable, or if you don't find out anything, don't stress over it, ok? We have other options. After the exhibit, Darcy can always talk to Charles and try to deal with Caroline that way; we'll figure it out."

"Ok," Jane replied with a semblance of a smile, "but, Beth… just please be careful until then, ok? Knowing now what I do…I don't trust Caroline. I know you don't either, but I've been in closer contact with her than you and I've heard more about her from Charles than you - things that aren't relevant to this situation, but… just be careful, ok?"

Beth stared at her sister, taken aback by her ominous request.

 _If Jane was concerned about Caroline, then she was even more dangerous than Beth had thought._

"Of course. It's just a few more days before I can really avoid her without issue; I'll be ok," Beth replied, standing up to take their trash into the kitchen, trying not to appear as shaken as she was by Jane's warning.

Pulling out her phone, she realized how late it was getting - almost nine-thirty.

 _Leaving soon -_ she texted Darcy.

"I think I'm going to head out soon. I'm sure Darcy is wondering how everything went." _Or more like freaking out on the inside worrying about what the outcome of this conversation was._

"Ok. I mean, you're welcome to stay for a little if you want," Jane offered.

"I know. I just…want to get home to him. This has been so stressful on us…" Beth trailed off, biting her lip and hoping Jane would understand her need to be with Darcy now.

"Of course, I understand," Jane replied empathetically. "I'll do what I can to help, Beth, I want you to know. As…shocking…as all of this is, I'm glad that you told me and I hope that Darcy decides to tell Charles soon. It's not easy to hear these things about someone you'd hoped to grow close to, but I can't see myself wanting to be close to someone who thinks it's ok to treat people the way that she does."

"Thank you, Jane. I…we…really appreciate it," Beth said, coming over to give her sister a hug. "I guess I will talk to you on Friday then. Hopefully, we can get a handle on everything before Caro's show. I don't even know how we are going to make that work…" Beth shuddered at the thought, but quickly continued before she managed to worry Jane any further, "but, I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"Let me know if there is anything else I can do, sis." Jane hugged her back. "Love you."

"Love you, too."

Beth grabbed her things and headed back downstairs to the car that she knew had probably been waiting for her moments after she texted Darcy that she would be leaving soon.

"What did she say?"

Beth had barely made it through the door before Darcy's concise and demanding question stopped her in her tracks.

He was leaning over the entryway table, shirtless, wearing his sweats that rode low on his hips; his palms were planted flat on the wooden surface, fingers gripping the edge, agitation written all over his body. His eyes dark and brooding, stared at her as if he could see right through to her mind to learn what had happened between her and Jane.

 _This is tough for him - not being in control._

Beth reminded herself as she calmly took off her shoes and turned, walking over to Darcy. She stopped just in front of him, her hands coming to the sides of his face, pulling his mouth to hers. They both sighed into the kiss, the surrounding stress evaporating for that moment. She didn't want to torture him, though, any more than he was probably already doing to himself.

"Come with me. I'll tell you what happened," she whispered, pulling back from their embrace.

Grasping his hand that was still firmly secured to the table, she disengaged it in order to entwine her fingers with his, leading him into the bedroom.

"Relax. Lay with me," she instructed.

It had been an emotional night already; she wasn't about to get into this discussion with him already on edge. She waited for him to climb onto the bed, on top of the covers, before she stripped down and snuggled up next to him.

"Jane was shocked, as I'm sure you can imagine," Beth began, explaining how their conversation had begun, emphasizing how Jane was hesitant to keep this from Charles.

"I will tell him," Darcy responded, gruffly.

"I know. I told her," Beth reassured him. "Unfortunately, Jane doesn't know exactly why Caroline is here."

"Fuck," Darcy interjected.

"Just, wait. Let me finish," Beth said, coming up on her elbow, placing a steadying hand on his chest. "She knows that Caro is here because her funds ran out, something to do with her grandmother. Jane also said that she doesn't think Caro has asked their parents for any money which means that, as you suspected, she has some other plan for getting those funds; and by 'other plan,' I mean you. Jane said there was more to it than that, though, because why come back to you - a bridge that she clearly had burned, when there are other routes she could pursue, like her parents, her brother…something. So, we know it's about the money but Jane is going to find out the rest when she sees Charles on Friday."

"I see," Darcy replied tightly, his brain processing the facts that were now confirmed for them, as well as the news that they would need to wait four days before they would know more. "And what am I supposed to do until then, just wait for her to try some other shit?"

"What else can we do?" Beth returned, rhetorically. "Confront her? How is that going to affect the rest of our relationships? She has a plan, that's true, but part of that plan involved getting close to me by working with me; I don't think she will try anything the week before her exhibition. As much as she wants you, furthering her career is first in her mind, otherwise she wouldn't be going through all of this - she would just give up her art and ask her parents for money. She wants the exhibit to be a success, and revealing herself to me, or doing any serious harm to me before then is going to cause a problem for her. So, yes, until Friday, we hold off and regroup. Got it?"

She smiled a little at her dictatorial tone, knowing she was using it to try and relieve some of the tension in the air.

"Yes, boss," Darcy replied, returning her smile, "so, is there anything that you want me to do?"

"Hmmm…" She paused for a moment. "Well, I can think of a few things…" she finished seductively, knowing that he caught her drift, and matched the fire burning in her eyes.

"Now that, I'd be happy to do," he said hoarsely, the heat of desire searing through the both of them.

His gaze held hers as he leaned over and captured her lips, relishing the moan that she released as her mouth opened to welcome him inside.

And that effectively put an end to any and all thoughts of plots, ploys, and pushy ex-girlfriends for the rest of the night.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

 _Jane, please call me ASAP._

Beth texted her sister furiously. She'd maintained her composure, her game-face, _all_ week. She pretended like there was nothing wrong; she'd gone out of her way to make sure that Caroline didn't suspect anything.

 _It had killed her._

Every smile, every nod, every laugh and attempt at camaraderie had felt like a knife twisting inside of her. Every email and phone call, excitedly reassuring Caroline of the success that her exhibition would be left the acid taste of bile in her mouth; thank Go she'd always had a coffee on hand otherwise she might have vomited. Behind the mask, she was aching to give this woman a piece of her mind, and maybe, a piece of her fist.

 _But she couldn't. Not yet._

Every instance, every communication, Beth asked herself if all of this was worth it, if trying to outsmart her was worth it because _God,_ it would be so much easier just to call the police and put an end to this. It would be so much easier to solve this problem, but at what expense? The resulting cascade of complications, she knew, would be much more painful than one week of suffering.

She wasn't kidding herself, though. Of course, her and Darcy's plan was chosen specifically for those reasons, however, over this past week, Beth realized that they weren't her sole motivator.

 _She wanted to win._

Beth guiltily locked up this motivation deep down inside of her, embarrassed at the selfishness of the thought, but, it was the truth. She wanted to win Darcy. It didn't matter that he was already hers, that he'd picked her time and again. Beth felt the competition that always inherently exists with your significant other's ex - or at least that's what she told herself. Yes, Caroline was gorgeous, and talented, and probably had more in common with Darcy, but Beth was going to win him, and not by getting a restraining order and taking the easy way out. They were going to outsmart her.

 _Together._

Then, she would have the satisfaction in knowing that in spite of everything that Caroline thinks she has going for herself, Darcy not only chose someone else, but that they both played a role in ending whatever grand plan she thinks she's too smart lose.

It was a ridiculous and childish feeling, to want to best someone like that, but she couldn't help herself, after everything that Caroline had done.

 _Which was another thing that had her on edge._

There had been nothing this whole week. Yes, standard communication from Caroline, but nothing from the _Crazy Bitch._ At first, Beth had been on edge, expecting every email to be more threats, every knock to bring more ominous gifts and letters, but there had been nothing. After the first day, she broke down to Darcy, afraid that she had done something to give herself away at the party, afraid that Caroline knew she had caught on to her scheme, but then Caro continued to email and call as if nothing had happened. By Wednesday, Beth determined there could only be two reasons why she'd received no more demands.

 _Ok, three reasons, but she sincerely doubted it was because Caro had just decided to give up on Darcy._

That left two other options. Either Caroline was too preoccupied with her exhibit that she was taking a short break from tormenting her and Darcy.

 _Or_

She was plotting something else - moving on to the next stage of her plan since it was obvious that Beth wasn't cooperating with anything that her emails and letters had ordered.

 _That's what she was afraid of._

Beth tried to tell herself that it was _definitely_ because of the exhibit; that Caro had been out of the country for so long that the stress and anxiety of making her work a success, especially if she was facing financial difficulty, would completely consume all of her efforts. It would be a natural assumption for most people, but Caroline was _crazy,_ and Beth couldn't shake the thought that there was more going on beneath the surface.

As much as she had made an effort to be overly nice and responsive to Caroline, sometimes, she feared that Caroline had done the exact same to her. Looking back, at all their previous encounters before she had known who Caroline truly was, Beth remembered all the little looks, smiles, and gestures that, at the time, had been inconsequential to her, but now she could see the deceitfulness, the calculating confidence behind them all. Now, every smile and compliment that Caroline had given her this past week glistened with that same subtle deviousness, as though she was just waiting for the next phase in her plan to unfold.

 _Maybe you were just imagining it._

That was also possibly true. How did that saying go? "To a hammer, the whole world is a nail." Well, maybe she was so paranoid that Caroline was just about to confront her, or hurt her, or kidnap her, _or who knows_ , that her mind was creating these distinctions where none actually existed.

Beth shook her head. None of that really mattered right now. Right now, it was Saturday, the day of Caroline's exhibit, and she hadn't heard a word from Jane last night. She hadn't expected Jane to call her last night, especially if Charles had stayed late, because she knew that Jane was respecting her request to keep this from him for now.

 _She had hoped to hear though._

Because that would mean she wouldn't be going crazy right now. She tried to call Jane this morning - no answer. Frustrated, she'd left the apartment to head over to the gallery to make sure that everything was being set up according to plan, stopping to pick up some last-minute supplies on the way. Thankfully, Caro wasn't there; Beth had told her not to be, told her that it would just make her less focused on what was important, and that was confidently selling her work to a bunch of people who had never seen it before. It sounded good, but it was mostly BS; she just couldn't bear to have to be in Caroline's presence all day.

 _Why isn't Jane responding to me?! She knows how important this is._

Which meant that Jane probably had a good reason for why she wasn't calling. Suddenly, her phone buzzed.

 _Jane!_

 _\- Call soon. Sorry._

Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Well, at least she knew that Jane was alive, because she was really starting to get concerned.

Her anxiety about tonight was really starting to overwhelm her. She was grateful that Darcy was going to be there. _No more hiding._ Going to the exhibit together, _Caroline's_ exhibit, was more than just for support; it was making a statement, to Caroline, that Beth hadn't backed down and that she wasn't going to back down.

 _God, she couldn't wait to see the look on Caro's face when she introduced Darcy to her as her boyfriend._

 _Hopefully, it didn't backfire._

Following the checklist she had made for herself, Beth efficiently made her way through the exhibit construction, making sure that everything was in order. Not that there was much she had to do, the decor was pretty sparse, allowing the focus to remain on the art. The pieces were still covered in cloth in the back; Beth and Caroline agreed to arrive half an hour before the doors opened to set them up, this way they wouldn't be damaged during set-up. Caroline had already numbered them so she knew where they were going to go.

 _Thirty minutes._

That was all that would be left for this charade; thirty minutes before the exhibit opened and then Beth would have the refuge of Darcy and the other guests to isolate her.

The sound of something vibrating against metal stirred her. Beth could have kicked herself for leaving her phone and purse on the small, metal table by the entrance. Picking it up she saw a voicemail from Jane.

 _Thank God._

 _"_ _Hey, Beth. Sorry it took me so long; Caroline stopped by this morning. Anyway, if you can come over, we can talk. I know what happened."_

Beth's heart stopped at her sister's words. Relief and anticipation coursed through her veins as she quickly grabbed her things, texting Jane that she was on her way over. It was a good thing she'd packed her clothes for the evening, just in case this happened.

Hailing a cab, she needed to let Darcy know what was going on. She crossed her fingers as the line began to ring, knowing that he'd scheduled meetings for today but hoping she was catching him in between them.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Beth replied, a little breathlessly, in relief that she'd gotten ahold of him.

"Are you ok? What happened?" Darcy asked, his voice immediately heightened with concern.

"What? Oh…no, sorry, I'm fine. I just wasn't sure if you were going to answer," Beth quickly explained, "I'm on my way to Jane's. She just texted me that Caroline was there this morning and that's why she never called."

"Oh, ok." His relief was palpable through the line.

"She said she knows - she knows why Caroline is doing this," Beth said, unable to stop the glimmer of hope from entering into her tone.

"Hopefully, it's something we can handle," he replied, less optimistically.

"It will be," Beth reassured him definitely, "I'll call you when we're done."

"Ok. I have another meeting this afternoon. I don't know when I'll be done, but I'll meet you at the exhibit as soon as I can."

"Ok."

"And Beth…I don't care what Jane tells you. Don't do anything rash before you talk to me," he ordered, unable to stop the controlling side of him from reappearing at such a time.

"I won't," she promised as her eyes looked up at the roof of the cab, hoping she would be able to keep her word.

There was pregnant moment of silence from the other end of the line, as if Darcy knew that she might have trouble not confronting Caroline on her own. Beth could practically hear his jaw clenching, trying to stop himself from truly demanding that she refrain from acting without conferring with him first.

"I will talk to you later," he finally responded, his words tight.

"I'll call you. I love you."

"I love you." His sigh indicating the release of at least some of his tension was unmistakable.

Hanging up the phone, her foot began to tap again anxiously on the floor of the cab, impatient for traffic to move faster as they were almost to Jane's apartment.

When they pulled up, she fumbled through her purse, trying to pay the cabby, remembering why she loved Uber so much; she would have made it up to the apartment by now.

Less than a minute later, she was knocking erratically on the door to the apartment, waiting for Jane to let her in.

"Jane! It's me! Let me in!"

Beth's hand was raised to knock again, when the door opened revealing a flustered and surprised Jane.

"Sorry…I'm just…" Beth trailed off, giving her sister an apologetic look as Jane moved back to let her enter.

"It's ok, I was just putting laundry away. I didn't know you were coming."

"I texted you…"

"Oh, I must have left my phone in the kitchen," Jane replied, understanding dawning on her face.

"Is it ok that I'm here? Caroline left, right?" Beth asked, immediately concerned that the crazy bitch might still be here.

"Oh, no, she left a little while ago now - right before I called you, she left. I don't know why she came over in the first place. She just was talking about her exhibit tonight. Then again, I'm sure she's not getting any support at home with her family, so maybe she figured I would be excited for her," Jane surmised, following Beth into the living room.

"I'm sorry, I'm going a little crazy after this whole week dealing with Caro. And then, not your fault but, I've been so eager to hear from you last night or this morning that I swear, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown," Beth said, letting out a nervous laugh, "anyway, it's fine, it doesn't matter. So, what's going on? What did Charles say? Why is she here?" Beth asked bluntly, no longer able to hide her impatience.

 _Smooth, B, real smooth._

"She's here for the money," Jane began softly, forcing her sister to take a seat on the couch.

"Ok, how much? Can we just give it to her so that she can stop with this ridiculousness?" Beth asked, exasperated.

"No, Beth. She's here for her money and the only way she can get it is through Darcy."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"What? I don't understand," Beth replied, overwhelmed with confusion.

 _If she needed money, why couldn't they just pay her?_

Unless it would involve paying her for the rest of her life, but regardless, why did she need Darcy for money? There were a thousand other people who didn't hate her whom she could ask.

"First, I want you to know that I'm on your side - I'm always on your side, which is why I'm sharing this private information with you. I won't lie to you, Beth, the thought of her disgusts me, but purposefully trying to get this information from Charles last night made me sick to my stomach; the fact that I was keeping something from him…" Jane shuddered at the remembrance.

 _God, she hated putting Jane in this position; she was too naive, too pure. She could never wrap her head around a person like Caroline, it just wasn't in her nature._

"In spite of everything that she has done, please use what I tell you with caution because it's not just her that you could end up hurting," Jane finished, pleading with her sister.

"I know, Jane. I know. I'm so sorry. I promise you that Darcy is going to tell Charles soon and I promise you that whatever you tell me, stays between you, myself, and Darcy; I promise we will use whatever you tell me responsibly, but we need to know, otherwise I'm afraid of what Caroline might do next," Beth responded, with an urgent empathy. As much as she felt for Jane, all her brain could focus on how Darcy was tied to Caroline's money.

Beth watched her sister nod in resignation, before beginning her tale.

"So, you know that Caro's parents wouldn't support her style of art all those years ago, and that's why she left and went to Italy?"

Beth nodded. _Where she should have stayed…_

"Her parents wouldn't pay for that, so her grandmother did. Well, not directly, her grandmother left her an inheritance, that was given out as a monthly allowance, that she used to fund her work and, ultimately, her move to Italy," Jane began.

 _So, that's why Mrs. Bingley made that comment about Caro's house not really being hers._

"However, the terms of the inheritance stipulated that Caro would get a certain amount until the age of thirty-three, as well as some other things, like the house she is living in now. However, after that point, she would only receive the rest as a wedding present for her and her husband to use. If she didn't marry, everything would go to Caroline's parents, to do with as they see fit, whether that is give it to her or not."

 _Seriously, what age was this woman living in? My mother probably would have gotten along great with her…_

"I know, it sounds ridiculous, but their grandmother was from a different generation. Caroline was always free-spirited; well, a with a dash of recklessness. Throughout school, wanting to pursue art, it put a strain on the relationship between Caroline and her parents. When Victoria, her grandmother, saw how reckless Caroline was becoming, and how much damage it was starting to do to the relationship between her and her parents, her grandmother decided to give her this money with the hope that it would ease the tension between them. She hoped that with some support, Caroline wouldn't feel the need to be so extreme in her rebellion. This was before Caro really got into the type of art that she does, otherwise that might have changed things."

Beth listened intently as Jane continued to reveal Caroline's history.

"It was better for a little while, but then Victoria passed away and Caro's behavior became more extreme. She desperately wanted her parents support for her art, but not in the way that you would think. Charles said that she seemed to want their support only to prove that she had the upper hand, that she had finally won the invisible struggle for power going on between them. When they refused, in the ultimate act of spite, that really backfired against herself, she used the money her grandmother had left her to leave for Italy, instead of using it to really fund and promote her art here." Jane paused here to take a sip of water.

"So, Caro has to get married in order to get the rest of this money?" Beth clarified.

"Not exactly," Jane continued, "Victoria was still very concerned about Caroline when she made her will. Charles said that even then, his grandmother could see that how Caroline was acting could have just been for show. So, according to Charles, to make sure Caroline didn't do anything incredibly rash, Victoria tied control over the inheritance to two things. First, her parents have the ability to waive that stipulation if they see fit. However, they still disagree with the style and scope of her art and think that she would be wasting the gift her grandmother gave her in order to pursue that."

"Yeah, I don't see that happening…" Beth interjected sarcastically.

"I know, her grandmother's set of beliefs was pretty well instilled in her daughter, Charles' mom. Caro tried to convince them when she first got back, but once their excitement of having her home wore off, she realized their minds wouldn't change. That is what Charles has been dealing with these past few weeks - the constant arguing over the art and the inheritance," Jane admitted.

"So that leaves Caroline with the only other option to get married," Beth inferred, "but, why not just marry some Italian or something? Why come back here and harass Darcy?"

"Well, that's the thing. Getting married would give her access to the rest of the funds but, to make sure that Caroline wouldn't do something – or marry someone – just to gain the inheritance, Victoria included a clause that said the money would be released in marriage only if Caroline's parents approved of her intended husband; her thought being that Caroline's parents would never approve of something that they didn't feel was respectable or that they didn't trust."

 _Oh, no…_

"So, knowing that she can't change her parents mind, why wouldn't she just try to find someone to start a relationship with and marry? Why go to Darcy, who she must know hates her?" Beth asked, incredulously.

"Her birthday is in two months, otherwise I'm sure that she would; see, she was never told about the clauses in the will. She didn't know what happened when her money supply stopped coming in but, it was right around the time we announced our engagement so, she came back for that, but more so to find out what was going on with her funds. She confronted Charles' mom about it and that's when they told her that there were provisions attached to the will in order for her to get the rest of the funds."

"I'm sure she was thrilled about that…" Beth interjected sarcastically.

"Anyway, I can't say for certain, but knowing what I do about her parents, and her, and what her parents think of her and how she acts…I can't see them believing any relationship that leads to marriage in two months is real," Jane asserted, "if it were Charles, that would be a different story. His personality is so different but hers… she's done too many conniving things over the years for her parents to trust her like that."

"So, that's why she needs Darcy; she knows that he's the only one her parents are guaranteed to accept, he's the only one to guarantee access to those funds," Beth replied, in shock at what Jane had revealed, "and not just those funds, Darcy's money, too.

"Yes," Jane replied softly, her head bowing down to look at her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"Why doesn't she just do something else?! I don't understand," Beth said desperately, her emotions threatening to completely overwhelm her.

 _How does that matter, Beth? If she wanted to do that, she would have, but she clearly wants to win this battle on her own terms._

"I don't know… It's why Charles gets so frustrated. He's tried to talk to her but all she wants to do is maintain her quality of life while making her art, her way; she refuses to look at any other option. He says it's about being in control, and giving in to her parents is giving up her control."

"And why would she ever think that Darcy would even agree to this, even if I wasn't in the picture? She has to realize that he hates her and he doesn't need the money. How can she think she'd be able to get him to go through with this?"

"I don't know… Maybe she's hoping that by forcing you to leave him, it will propel him back to her? Maybe with you gone she has some other way to blackmail Darcy into marrying her?" Jane suggested.

 _Like what? Unless she knows how to go after Georgiana…if George Wickham could figure out a way to blackmail him, Caroline definitely could._

"God, I just can't believe she is trying to use him like this again. How do I even stop it? Aside from paying her whatever her inheritance would have been…except she still wouldn't get the house and whatever else was included," Beth said, her minding thinking out loud as she closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.

 _Too much. It was all too much._

"What if her art doesn't take off here?" Jane asked.

"What do you mean?" Beth responded, perplexed with her question.

"What if no one wants to buy her art and makes her feel like in order to be successful, she needs to switch her subject to something that her parents would feel is more 'appropriate'?"

Beth took a second to let the thought sink in. If, Caro was convinced by her audience that they preferred some of her other, more modern works, over her classical nudes, then maybe Jane was right; maybe her parents would feel that is something that they could support.

"I mean, it could work… But how would we even do that? And how do we accomplish our plan before she does something drastic to further hers?"

 _Two months was not a lot of time, which meant Caroline was definitely feeling the crunch._

Jane bit her lip and gave a small shrug of her shoulders, not having any more answers for her sister.

"Wait, why don't we just go to Charles' parents and tell them what she is doing? Surely they would be able to do something - whether it's give Caroline the money or confront her about her actions?"

"I doubt they would just give her the money to make her stop, especially because what proof would you have? Nothing that she has done or sent you has her name on it. The only reason you know that it's her is because of Darcy. Sure, I guess he could accuse her and reveal their past relationship, but she could also just deny it. Honestly, I don't think they would ever believe Caroline would do such a thing, when in their mind it would be so simple for her to get the rest of the inheritance by just forgoing her art," Jane replied skeptically.

"What if we could prove that it was her?" Beth asked.

"I mean if you could, I'm sure that would force them to give in to her. The problem is that there's a power struggle going on between them, so unless there is concrete evidence to force their hand, they will hold out for as long as possible to try to get Caroline to be the daughter that they always wanted."

"I'm not sure how yet, but maybe we could set some sort of trap?" Beth mused aloud, her mind already turning through the possibilities.

"Maybe…" Jane replied, less enthused with that option. "Maybe see how things go tonight and if her other work seems to be a hit, then you won't have to worry about that."

 _Jane would never understand that sometimes, you have to beat people at their own game. And Caroline's game was not the type where she sits around and hopes for the best…_

"Maybe… I guess we'll hope for the best tonight; I can tell her that I heard from most of the guests that they liked the other pieces more, but I'm not sure what else I can do. I need to talk to Darcy," Beth concluded, "what time is it?"

Looking at her watch, her heart skipped a beat; she needed to get changed and get back over to the gallery to set up.

"I didn't realize what time it was. I have to get ready and get back…" Beth said, distractedly as she looked around for where she put her bag of clothes.

"Ok. Have you eaten anything?"

 _Shit. Jane was just as bad as Darcy!_

"No, not really. I'm not really hungry though," Beth answered, trying to sound reassuring.

"You should eat something before you go; you can't think straight with no food. At least take a protein bar with you…" Jane offered.

"Ok, I'll do that," Beth agreed in order to end the discussion so that she could go change.

 _She needed to talk to Darcy._

 _How were they going to do this?_ Her mind began to wonder, as soon as she was alone in the silence of the bathroom.

 _How would they be able to trap Caroline into revealing that it was her who was threatening them?_

 _I wonder if Darcy has someone who would be able to trace the email she sent, although I doubt her name is going to be on anything attached to it._

 _At some point, she's going to have to reveal who she is to me, right? What else could her plan involve besides confronting me in person?_

 _What if I confronted her, first, and recorded the whole thing? She wouldn't see it coming, wouldn't have time to plan for an escape. I could tell her that I know she's the one who has been messaging me, threatening me; maybe play along and tell her I'll do what she wants if she just explains to me why she is doing this._

 _Or I could goad her by saying that there is no way that Darcy would return to her. Because that still makes absolutely NO sense to me how she thinks that getting rid of me will suddenly make her advances on him welcome._

All of these thoughts ricocheted through her brain as her limbs moved on auto-pilot, changing and doing her make-up as quickly as she could.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok tonight?"

She heard Jane ask as she gathered the rest of her things from the hall, ready to walk out the door.

"What other choice do I have?" Beth laughed, giving her sister an ironic smile.

"Ok, well I'll see you there later."

"Ok, thanks for everything Jane. I can't tell you how much I…we…appreciate it."

She gave her sister a hug and made her way to the elevator as quickly as she could, her fingers already tapping to call Darcy before the doors dinged open.

 _Voicemail._

Shit.

 _Shit. Shit. Shit._

Checking the time, her lips pursed realizing she was going to be about five minutes late for when she had said she would meet Caroline.

 _Oh well._

She tried calling Darcy again while waiting for her Uber, and then again in the car; both calls still ringing through to voicemail. Resigning herself to not being able to talk to him before the exhibition, she waited for the beep.

"Hey, it's me. I just left Jane's and I'm almost to the gallery. I know why she's doing all of this and I have an idea, but it looks like I'll have to talk to you when you get here. I love you."

 _God, she really wanted to talk to him before the evening got underway._

It looked like she was going to have to suck it up and find a way to talk to him for a private moment during the event, because the car pulled up to the gallery and she could see Caroline inside waiting for her.

Stepping out of the car, she picked up all of her bags, slapped a fake, but excited smile on her face, and walked confidently in the direction of the woman who was intent on destroying her happiness.

 _Time to get this party started…_


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

 _Holy shit there are a lot of people here._

Beth couldn't help thinking that this was way more than what Caro had included on the guest list. The gallery had filled up quickly, and suddenly Beth found herself basically trapped near the back by the cake table.

Her position gave her a view of, in her opinion, the two most critical things; one, the door, for when Darcy arrived and two, Caroline, who she'd specifically stationed near the front to greet her guests. She wasn't too thrilled that Darcy would probably encounter Caroline before he made it back to her, but she also didn't trust herself to remain so close to Caroline without giving something away.

Beth took a sip of her wine and scanned the scene before her again. The way the space was set up was almost like an S, with a display area on the right wall as you entered; following that took you to a half-partition of the room which veered you to the left, where again there was more open space to stand and admired the works on the left wall. That, then, curved around to the back of the gallery where the caterer had set up a table against the back wall with the cake and wine.

From her post, she was positioned between two of, what she felt, were Caroline's better works - a portrait of an old man, smiling even though he was missing several of his teeth, and a breakout watercolor piece that she had done of the Trevi Fountain. These two were originally slated to be hung on the back of the partition wall but when Beth had arrived, she managed to persuade Caro to switch up her original layout.

Blaming her lateness on the traffic, she had gushed her apology to Caroline in spite of the distinctly questioning glare she received when she had first entered the building.

Probably due to the essence of time, Caroline's polite mask descended over her features as she quickly acknowledged Beth's apology before she'd turned their focus to her art.

Caroline originally had her nude pieces prominently displayed on the front of the partition and on the left wall - giving them the most view time based on where guests were likely to congregate. Seeing an opportunity to shift the focus on to some of her other works, Beth pretended to think for a moment, scanning the artwork that had been propped up against the walls.

Heart hammering in her chest, Beth had bluntly suggested that the nude pieces be moved to the back of the partition and the far corner. She cited better lighting and the fact that the food and drinks were back there which would be where most people would tend to linger. Her reasoning sounded weak, even to her, but then, miraculously, Caroline agreed. It had rendered Beth speechless for a moment before she quickly covered up her shock by helping to move the artwork to its new home.

In the end, it probably didn't matter that they had changed the location of the paintings; there were so many people here that every alcove was full, meaning, that even though the nudes were in the worst location, they were still getting just as much visibility as everything else due to the volume of people.

However, she had taken that moment, that opportunity, as she re-examined the pieces, to throw in how much she loved the watercolor landscapes that were included in the exhibit, that they were by far her favorite. Beth felt proud for a moment, that she had won a victory, however slight, over Caroline, by arranging to have the nude sketches placed in a not-ideal location. Of course, that second was fleeting when she began to wonder why Caroline had taken her advice so easily. The lighting really wasn't any better, but it's true that the food was all in the back. Maybe Caro truly believed her, or maybe she was just too anxious about the show to really think about it, or maybe she didn't care because she'd already moved forward with the next part of her plan.

 _I guess we'll find out soon enough._

"Well, well, well, I can't say I'm surprised to see you here, Miss Bennet."

The familiar authoritative tone immediately set Beth on edge as she turned to acknowledge the person addressing her.

"Good evening, Mrs. DeBourgh. I'm so glad you could make it," Beth said, her enthusiasm clearly fake.

 _What was she doing here?! Catharine DeBourgh was NOT on the guest list._

Beth couldn't help the sinking feeling beginning to grow in her stomach.

"Yes, well, I wouldn't miss it. Dear Caroline was a good friend of my daughter's when they were much younger, and lately, she's proven to be quite invaluable to me," Mrs. DeBourgh replied with a smirk.

"Yes? Well, enjoy your night," Beth said, clearly dismissing the woman from her presence.

 _She had one bitch to deal with tonight, she wasn't about to add Cathy to the list._

"Oh, I most definitely will," Mrs. DeBourgh said haughtily, as she turned away from Beth, walking back in Caroline's direction.

Beth gasped in a huge breath of air. Her thoughts, her plan, thrown completely off-guard by her encounter with Mrs. DeBourgh. As she replayed their short conversation, it wasn't the fact that she was here that concerned Beth as much as the same, all-knowing, conniving smile that had crossed her face just before she walked away.

 _It was the same smile that Caroline gave Beth when she thought that she had the upper hand._

The sinking feeling in Beth's stomach started to get worse. She drained the rest of her wine glass, unintelligently hoping that would settle her.

Beth was pulled from her troubles as Jane approached her through the crush.

"Hey," she said, giving her sister a hug, "glad you could make it."

"Well, we couldn't miss it. Charles wants to support his sister, at least, for now he does…" Jane trailed off, looking at the people around them. "Where's Darcy?"

"Not here yet," Beth replied with a sigh, "he called me maybe twenty minutes ago, but it was starting to get crazy in here so I couldn't answer; he texted then and said he was on his way."

"Oh, I see. So, you haven't told him yet?"

"No, I tried to call him on my way here but he was in a meeting and didn't answer. So, my plan now is to waylay him as soon as he gets here, which is why I've planted myself in this spot so that I can see the door…and Caroline. As soon as he gets here, I'll make my way towards the front of this mess and pull him outside, but for right now, I don't trust myself to be up there with her, regardless of all the people in here to separate us."

Jane's lips pursed as she nodded.

"Did you see that Mrs. DeBourgh was here? Did you know that Anne and Caroline used to be friends when they were kids?" Beth asked, pretty certain that Jane wouldn't know, but needing to talk about this to someone.

"Oh, really? No, I had no idea. I didn't see her when I came in, but there are a lot of people in here," Jane replied with an apologetic smile.

"Yeah…I don't have a good feeling about this," Beth said, nervously chewing her lip.

Beth jumped, feeling her phone vibrate in her hand. Shaking her head at her nervousness, she quickly opened up his text.

\- _I'm here._

 _Caroline is in the front. I'm coming._

Beth looked up to see Jane watching her curiously.

"He's here," Beth said as she looked past her sister to the front door.

No one was coming in. She frantically scanned what she could see of the front of the gallery space, her eyes halting immediately as they caught and locked with his. Immediately, she could sense his anger and irritation fuming from underneath his hard exterior of control.

Everything around her faded into the background, the only thing that mattered was making her way over to him; she needed the strength and comfort of his presence. Without breaking eye contact, Beth moved past her sister and began to slink through the mess of people. Suddenly, his gaze broke from hers, his attention pulled to someone on his right, and Beth immediately felt the loss; the mass of people, the stuffiness in the space threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to just push forward, barrel through all of the people in her way, but she couldn't; she knew that she couldn't, and that meant she remained vulnerable to all those who stopped her for attention along the way.

"Beth! There you are, I've been looking for you!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, coming up and hugging her daughter.

"Hi, mom; thanks for coming. I'm actually right in the middle of something so I'll have to talk to you later. Why don't you go get a glass of wine? They're in the back," Beth managed to get out as she quickly sidestepped her mother.

Her eyes took a moment to find Darcy again, he seemed to be in conversation with someone; Beth had to assume that it was Caroline even though the thought made her stomach queasy again. She wanted to be there next to him, to show a united front; he shouldn't have had to handle this alone.

 _This was not going according to plan._

Then, someone grabbed her elbow, stopping her, again, in her tracks and pulling her gaze from Darcy to whomever was physically demanding her attention.

"Hey, Beth! Have you seen Jane?" Charles asked, releasing her elbow.

"Hey, umm… yeah, she was in the back by the cake table, last I saw her," Beth answered her, forcibly putting a smile on her face.

"Ok, thanks! This looks great by the way; you did a great job. Caroline said that everything is going super well," Charles continued, jovially.

 _Ugh...seriously?! Go find Jane already._

"Awesome! Yeah, I'm really happy with how things turned out. There's a ton of people here, I would go try to find Jane before she gets swallow up!" Another forced smile planted on her face as she turned away from her future brother-in-law towards her future.

Darcy was only a few feet away now, but it seemed like miles, especially when she could see how hard his jaw was clenching from here. Another few steps brought her through enough of the crowd to see that he was not only talking to Caroline, but Mrs. DeBourgh was part of the conversation as well.

 _This cannot be good._

Beth felt her heart begin to race as she finally approached the group, watching as Mrs. DeBourgh and Caroline exchanged a conspiratorial glance as Caroline reached out and put her hand on Darcy's arm. His hand immediately fisted in an attempt not to jerk his arm away and out of her reach.

Caro's arm came down just as she saw Beth approaching, a satisfied smile spreading over her face.

 _No turning back now; it was time to throw down the gauntlet._

Beth walked right up to Darcy, her hand reaching down to intertwine with his as she leaned up to kiss him.

"Hey, I've been looking for you," she said softly, waiting for Darcy to acknowledge her.

His eyes finally met hers and she could see instantly that something wasn't right. She felt no pull from them, none of the emotion that he usually transmitted to her. His gaze felt empty as he barely acknowledged her with a nod.

 _What happened? Had she gone too far with the kiss?_

No, that couldn't be it. He hated these two women, and yet his response to her was cold and distant.

 _Don't dwell on it now._

Her head turned to acknowledge their audience with a false smile, "Hi, ladies, sorry to interrupt your conversation."

"Oh, that's ok, Beth; I think we were just about done, weren't we Darcy?" Caroline replied, her devious smile spreading across her face; it was her only of smile that Beth realized went from ear to ear.

At least Darcy didn't acknowledge her. His mouth just thinned even further, his eyes burning with rage at the woman standing in front of him

 _Ok, well at least that hadn't changed._

"Wonderful, well, if you wouldn't mind excusing us, I haven't seen him all day," Beth interjected cordially, as she turned towards the front door of the gallery, pulling Darcy's hand along with her.

For a moment, she felt resistance, as if he wasn't going to go with her and she began to panic. Then, her arm slackened as he began to follow her, but not before she looked back and saw Caroline and Mrs. DeBourgh both smiling at her as if they were watching her rush eagerly to her own demise.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Opening the door, the cool night air assaulted Beth's lungs as she sucked in the oxygen that her stress-induced body had begun to lack. They both made it out the door and on to the sparsely populated sidewalk.

 _At least he hadn't let go of her hand._

"What's going on, Darcy?" Beth asked as soon as she determined they were free from being overheard.

"I could ask you the same thing," was his cryptic response.

"What? I don't understand. What's going on is that I've been waiting for you to get here so that I could talk to you about what Jane told me," Beth answered in frustration, stepping closer to him, trying to reach him at least through a physical connection.

"I see," he said, softly, mimicking her movement so that their chests were just a breath apart, him towering over her. "And what did Jane have to say?"

 _This wasn't Darcy; this wasn't like him at all. Well, no it was like him - the Mr. Intolerable version of him._

"She said that Caroline is back for money," Beth gushed out, "she's only here because she needs money that her grandmother willed to her and she's running out of time and options on how to get it. She's decided —"

Beth stopped as Darcy face broke out into a smile and he began to laugh.

 _What is going on?!_

She stared up at him, hurt and confusion painted all over her face.

"You know, you are really good at finding out information about people," he said, the bitter touch of irony woven into his words.

"I…I guess? Thank you?" she replied, incredulously, "I don't understand. What do you want me to say? Do you not want me to tell you?"

"You can," he began, his gaze looked up for a second, as if he couldn't believe what was happening, "but you can answer something for me, first."

"Ok…" Beth answered, nervously; her gut telling her that something bad was about to happen.

His head leaned down, right next to her ear, as he whispered, harshly, "This plan that you have to fix everything, should I assume that you've already told it to Mrs. DeBourgh? Or are you only supposed to tell her of my life and my plans?"

 _Oh, God, no…_

Beth felt the blood drain from her face, her mouth turning to sand as the implication of his words set in. She'd never told him that she'd been reporting on him to Mrs. DeBourgh when they had first met, mostly because she had stopped not that long after and then proceeded to put Mrs. DeBourgh in her place. Their previous business relationship completely displaced from her mind. Everything that had happened between her and Darcy since then had only further removed that brief moment in time from her mind.

But now she could see her error.

Even though it hadn't been done deceitfully or maliciously, she hadn't been open with him, like she'd forced him to be with her. Now, it looked like she had betrayed him.

 _This was Caroline's plan all along._

"Darcy…it's not…" she whispered, hoarsely, her mouth barely able to make out the words she was so consumed with fear and anxiety.

"It's not what?" he asked scornfully, pulling away from her, "please, _this_ I want to know."

She stifled her whimper at the loss of him.

"It's not what you think," she mumbled, her brain caught so off-guard by the accusation, a complete shift of gears from what it had been focused on for days, that she couldn't think straight; she couldn't come up with the words to explain or defend herself. "I don't talk to Mrs. DeBourgh, you know that I don't; you know how I ended things between her and I. What she told you isn't…"

"Isn't what? Isn't true?" He laughed harshly, "Did you or did you not give Mrs. DeBourgh personal information about me, my life, my comings and goings?"

She was caught and the worst part about it was that she could see the thread of hope glimmering in his eyes, begging for her to deny the accusation.

 _But she couldn't, because it was true._

Her mouth opened and shut, tears rushing to the surface of her eyes, beginning to spill over. She couldn't do it, in that moment, she couldn't find the words to admit to what she had done.

Beth closed her eyes and nodded, painfully, feeling the hot rush of tears that had been freed course down her cheeks.

The silence that followed was suffocating. Beth opened her eyes again to see him staring at her, neither of them able to find the words to speak. His face was etched with so many emotions: anger…pain…betrayal.

The last gave her the strength to break through the emotional wall muting her.

"But, it's not what you think," she began, her voice thick with unshed tears.

"Not what I think? No, Beth, you spied on me for a woman who has tried to control me and her daughter for most of my adult life. How much did you tell her, I wonder? Did you tell her what is really going on between Anne and I? Did you tell her about Caroline? God only knows what she will try to do with that information."

"No! No, I didn't —" Beth began to plead, but cut off as Darcy raised his hand, indicating for her to stop.

"You didn't? How can I believe you? Our very first interactions seem to have been built on secrets and lies. She certainly knows about Caroline now and if you didn't tell her, who did? Caroline? I doubt that would help Caroline's case very much, knowing what Cathy's hopes are," he scoffed, "no, Beth, I don't know what you think it is, but what I think you did is nothing short of betrayal."

"I didn't mean to, please, Darcy," she begged, "I'm so sorry. Please, just let me explain."

"God, part of me wants to, Beth, it really does, but the other part of me knows that if I don't leave here now, I'm going to be in worse shape than I was six years ago," he admitted painfully, the anger repressed by the pain of her betrayal.

"Please…I love you," she whispered, thickly, one last time.

Tears washed her face as his ironic laugh that responded to her words.

"That's the worst part; that's the _fucking_ worst part." The sadness in his laugh that followed tore right through her. "I loved you and I _fucking_ believed that you loved me too because I could see that you were nothing like _her,_ but I was wrong to think that that was going to work out better for me. At least with her, I knew where she stood, even though I chose not to believe it for a long time. But you, I _believed_ you when you told me where you stood, when you told me you loved me, and now, I realize that even with every reason to trust you, I shouldn't have. No, believing that you cared about me only to learn that you did this is a _thousand fucking times worse_ than anything that Caroline ever did."

A sob escaped her, her hands coming up too late to cover her mouth. His words tearing through her like a hot knife through butter.

 _God, everything that he said was true._

"I'm sorry…" she choked out.

"Goodbye, Beth," he replied, his voice devoid of all emotion.

She watched in agony as the stony mask that had ruled his face when they had first met began to rebuild itself over his achingly beautiful features. She watched, through watery eyes, as Darcy turned and walked toward the curb where his car was waiting and climbed in, leaving her standing there, frozen in place with desolation, as the tears rolled down her cheeks in droves.

 _What had she done?_

 _What was she going to do?_

And then, her mind went blank; maybe it was from the stressful over-thinking of the Caroline situation this past whole week, or maybe it was from the all-consuming devastation of losing the man that she loved, the irony of which was not lost on her - losing the love of her life, not because of the woman she viewed as the most obvious threat to her happiness, but because of the woman she had thought the least - _herself._ Regardless of the reason, the next thing Beth was cognizant of doing was climbing into her old bed in Jane's apartment. She didn't know how she got there, or what had happened after Darcy had left, all she knew was that when she woke tomorrow morning she'd pray it would be to realize that this was all a bad dream.

"Beth?" Jane's soft knocking pulled Beth from her slumber.

She peeled her tear-stained face off of her pillow just as Jane opened the door, concern immediately flooding her sister's eyes.

"What happened? Are you ok? You disappeared last night and I assumed you left with Darcy, but then I got home and found you here…"

Beth groaned as she pulled herself up to sit in bed, still wearing her clothes from last night.

"I'm sorry," she answered hoarsely.

Her mind fighting the inevitable reality that last night was real, last night happened, last night she lost Darcy.

"What happened?"

"Fought with Darcy; it's over," her voice cracking on the last.

"What? Why?! I thought knowing about Caroline was going to make things easier, I don't understand."

"I betrayed him, Jane; it's my fault," she admitted in defeat, feeling her eyes try to muster up more tears, unsuccessful in their attempt as she had apparently used them all last night.

"What do you mean?"

"I betrayed him. I spied on him for Mrs. DeBourgh months ago right after we first met. She hired me to do her PR, but it was only because of the proximity that I had to dad's firm while he was in talks with Charles…and Darcy. I told her everything I knew about why he was here, what he was doing, where he was going and who with," she paused, laughing in disgust at herself, "you know how much he irritated me at first, so, I didn't care. But then, I started to fall for him, and realize how ridiculous she was, so I stopped."

"Oh, Beth, how could…" Jane stopped, realizing that chastising her sister wasn't what she needed right now. "The point is that you stopped though."

"A point that gets lost in the fact that I never ended up telling him about it; which makes it look like I was trying to keep it from him this whole time that I've been berating him for not being open with me."

"Ok, but that's not what happened. You didn't purposefully keep it from him. Why wouldn't he want to believe that? Why would he want to believe…whomever told him…over you? Who did tell him?"

"I don't know. Probably Mrs. DeBourgh, but Caroline was part of the conversation too. Of course, he wouldn't want to believe them over me, but I've given him no choice. It is true what they told him that I did. He doesn't want to know the whole story because he's already been betrayed by a woman he didn't love once, and now, to find out the woman he does…did love betrayed him as well, by the very woman who hurt him in the first place… it's safer to just close all of us out; it's easier to be alone that to subject himself further to the potential of being hurt," Beth responded hopelessly.

"Oh, Beth. I'm sure that he doesn't think that. Ok, maybe he did last night, in the heat of the moment. I'm sure it was shocking and hurtful to learn what happened from the people that he did, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't love you and that he doesn't want to hear your side of the story. Just think about how you have been these past weeks when he has done something to you that you initially felt was irredeemable; you felt angry and hopeless. But, after some time to calm down, and think it through, or talk it through, you realize that it's not that bad and I'm sure that it what he is realizing now."

Beth stared out at the wall in front of her bed.

 _Could what Jane said be true? Maybe he was regretting his rash words, just like she had done many times in the recent past. Maybe, this morning, he would listen to her - not to her excuses, but to her sincere apology._

"I have to go," Beth said, moving swiftly out of her bed, almost knocking Jane over as she brushed past her into the hall, "I'm sorry, I have to see him. I have to know if this is really it."

"Good luck!"

Beth barely heard her sister's reply as she jetted out the door, climbing into the first cab that she saw. Her heart raced as the cab finally pulled up in front of the Plaza and she climbed out, running into the hotel.

When the elevator doors finally opened on the penthouse floor, she stepped out, stopping short at the door to the apartment. All at once the eagerness with which she had rushed over here transformed into fear; fear of the unknown.

 _No, fear of the potential known._

She didn't knock, she just pulled out her key and inserted it, softly opening the door when it unlocked.

"Hello?" she said, cautiously.

Instead of a response, she thought she heard someone either say something or moan, she couldn't tell which. Worried, that Darcy had drank himself to the point of alcohol poisoning, she quickly set her things down on the table and rushed to the bedroom.

There was no one in the bed. However, someone had been in it, the covers were completely messed, one pillow had fallen on the floor next to the bed - next to her side of the bed. Walking into the room, she leaned down to pick it up and place it back on the bed. As she did, she saw a black, lace thong hidden underneath and her heart stopped.

 _Was someone else here? With Darcy?_

Nausea rolled through her at the possibility. Looking to her right to the bathroom door, she saw the rest of what was definitely a trail of female clothing leading into the bathroom. She walked over them, following their trail, even though she knew no one was in the bathroom.

As she stepped over and took note of each piece of clothing, the thought came unbidden to her and yet, turned her world upside down.

 _This is what Caroline was wearing last night._

At first her vision went almost completely black at the implication; it returned a second later, just in time for her to lean over the toilet and vomit into the bowl.

 _She had to get out of here._

Wiping her face, she practically ran out of the room back towards the front door when she heard the noise again. It was definitely a laugh this time - _a female laugh,_ and she knew where it was coming from.

Walking around the entryway table, she peered down the hall leading to Darcy's studio. The door to which was wide open. She took a few steps closer and then froze when she saw Caroline's naked form pass by the doorway, her face smiling at something…someone…that Beth could not see.

She heard Caroline's enticing laugh again, followed by the words, 'Oh, Darcy!'

And then she was running.

Out the apartment door, out of the hotel, she ran and ran until she couldn't breathe, and then kept running in the direction of Jane's apartment.

Jane had been right, in the worst way; her betrayal had only proved to Darcy that relationships built on true feelings didn't work, that they weren't something he deserved, and that had pushed him back to the only thing he felt he did deserve - Caroline.

"Beth, what happened? Oh my God, you look like someone died!" Jane exclaimed as Beth entered the apartment.

"Someone did."

"What? Who?"

"Me," Beth replied.

There were no sobs, not even any tears. Darcy had been on to something here, having no feelings made life a whole lot easier.

"What happened?"

"Nothing happened. It's just over," Beth said as she walked past her sister into her bedroom, opening her closet to pull out a bag.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving. I can't stay; I need to get away from here…from him," she explained.

"Where are you going? What am I going to tell mom? dad? everyone?"

"That I took a new job that requires me to travel. It won't be forever, Jane, but just for now. I'm on the verge of breaking to a point where there is no coming back," Beth pleaded with her sister.

"Ok…ok. What can I do? Can I do anything to help?"

"No, you've done so much already. Thank you," she said, trying to give her sister a smile.

Beth zipped up her sparsely packed bag and walked over to hug her sister.

"I love you. I get in touch when I get wherever it is I'm going."

"Ok, but Beth, I just want you to know how worried I am about you right now, please take care of yourself. Promise me," Jane said, blocking the doorway, refusing to let Beth leave the room without giving her word.

"I promise," Beth answered hollowly, praying that she would be able to keep it.

As she walked out of her room and passed the couch in the living room, she slipped her phone between two of the couch cushions before grabbing her purse and laptop bag and walking out of the door.

Less than an hour later, she sat down on the bench in the trail station, waiting for her train to arrive. She pulled out her laptop and opened her email.

 _Time to tie up the rest of the loose ends._

Her first email was to Phil, apologizing for everything that had happened and for what she was about to do. She told him that things were right and she couldn't continue to work for him until she had her life more under control; she told him her two assistants were more than capable of handling her existing clients and that when and if she returned, she did not expect her job to be waiting for her.

Second, she emailed her assistants thanking them for the pleasure that it had been to work with them, letting them know that they were more than capable of running the show on their own.

With her train arriving in two minutes, she opened up one last new email.

 _Hey Pat,_

 _Sorry for the delay in response. It actually looks like I'm going to be in Boston for the foreseeable future. Any chance that the Dempsey Center needs an in-house PR person?_

 _***_ The End ***

Keep reading for an except from the first chapter of the last book in the series, Third Time is the Charm!


	30. Third Time is the Charm - Sneak Peek!

Preface

"What the fuck?" Darcy cursed noticing that the door to his apartment was cracked open, as Charles and he exited the elevator.

"Is someone here?" Charles asked, concerned.

"Not that I know of…" Darcy responded, trailing off as his heart picked up speed at the thought of one person who did have a key, who could be here looking for him.

 _Beth._

He glanced over at Charles, who from the looks of it, was thinking the same thing. Pushing through the open door, he moved quickly into the apartment, eager to see her, to apologize for what he had said.

"Beth! Are you here?" he yelled as he strolled purposefully through the apartment looking for any sign of her.

When he walked into the bedroom, he stopped in shock, seeing the state of his bed, a bed that had been made yesterday morning when he left and should have still remained that way considering he spent last night at Charles' place.

" _What the fuck…"_ he muttered as he saw the definitively feminine clothes strewn about his floor.

He followed the trail of clothes into the empty bathroom, Charles not far behind him.

"What happened?" Charles asked, looking around him in complete confusion.

"I have no fucking clue. This was all clean yesterday when I left to for work, and I haven't been back since, but clearly someone has, and whomever let them in is going to have to deal with me," Darcy threatened in response, his mind already making its way towards the correct conclusion.

 _These weren't Beth's clothes and he had an unfortunate suspicion to whom they belonged._

He turned abruptly and stalked passed Charles, his angry footsteps falling hard on wooden floors as he walked straight for the room he knew would contain the answer to this mess.

He clenched his jaw, seeing the door to his studio wide open. Rage blurred his vision at the invasion of his privacy; he didn't even hear or realize Charles' footsteps following not far behind him.

Walking into the room, he turned to see the image he had begun to dread - _Caroline._

She was lounging on the couch, naked, giving him a coy smile.

Anger radiated off of him as his eyes met hers; he could almost feel the rage burning through his gaze. There was no possibility of her thinking that he was happy or aroused to see her, that was clear.

"Get the fuck out of my house," Darcy said, his voice low and deadly, making it clear who was in charge.

 _God, how he was so close to picking up the stool next to him and throwing it across the room, especially when her response to his order was a throaty laugh, as if he were just a little boy throwing a fit._

The amount of pleasure that he got by what happened next is impossible to describe.

" _Caroline?! Oh my God,"_ Charles' shocked voice exclaimed from the doorway, as he turned his face away shielding his vision from looking at his sister lying naked in his best friend's house.

Her confident smirk effectively wiped from her face realizing that Darcy hadn't come home alone. She quickly sat up and covered herself with the sheet she had left draped on the couch.

"Charles, what are you doing here?" she spat, vehemently.

" _Me?_ What are you doing here? _And why are you naked?"_ Charles asked in confused disgust.

Darcy let a smug smile spread over his face, his eyes still sending Caroline the message of complete and total disinterest, mixed with humor at her embarrassment. He enjoyed the dark scowl that she sent back.

 _Now, that was the Caroline that he knew; the one who was always using you as a part of her plan._

For how much work she put into her façade in order to get her away, he was always so shocked at how quickly it crumbled when something truly unexpected happened to thwart her. That was always her downfall; all of her best laid, most well-executed plans disintegrated at the shock of failure as her anger consumed all of her emotional capacity, preventing her from keeping up her ruse.

He watched her with narrowed eyes as she stalked over to him, stopping right in front of his face to whisper,

"We aren't done…"

With those parting words, she sidestepped him and walked to the door, ignoring her still-shocked brother as she moved right passed him without any further acknowledgement.

"Caroline," Darcy called to her, his voice menacing, "we've been done for a long time. Don't come back."

If this were Ancient Greece, her stare would have turned him to stone, but, as it was, her enraged look only brought a bigger smile to his face. Turning, she left the room, slamming the door behind her.

The sound of the door shook Charles from his shocked stupor as he looked at Darcy for a brief moment before turning toward the door to go after his sister.

"Caroline, what the hell is —" Charles began to yell before Darcy grabbed his arm and interrupted him.

"Let her go," Darcy said calmly, "I can explain."

"Well, someone had better!" Charles exclaimed, his voice bordering on anger, which was a rarity for him.

At least he had stopped from leaving the room to pursue his sister for answers.

 _God only knows what she would have told him._

Darcy waited for another thirty seconds, even though Charles was staring at him impatiently. When he heard the front door close as Caroline left, Darcy walked over in front of Charles and opened the studio door, exiting the studio into the hallway. Charles followed him as he walked into the dining room.

"Darcy, what is going on? Why was Caroline here, like that?" Charles asked again.

Ignoring the question for the moment, Darcy pulled out two glasses from the bar, tossing them carelessly onto the countertop as he grabbed the bottle of scotch and pulled the stopper out.

"Scotch?" he asked Charles.

"Shit…make it a double," Charles responded, the disbelief and astonishment over what he had just witnessed still having trouble sinking in.

Darcy quickly poured them each generous glasses of the liquor, taking a deep swig before addressing his friend again.

"I have all the answers that you want and I will explain everything to you, but you have to promise me one thing," Darcy said, his voice deathly still with the gravity of what he was about to ask.

"Ok, sure, anything," Charles said quickly, willing to do anything at this point to understand what had just happened.

"I need you to promise me that you won't tell Jane about what just happened," Darcy began, "don't worry, she knows most of what I'm about to tell you, but after everything that happened with Beth last night, after everything that you know that I said to her, I don't want her to ever know that Caroline was here."

"Ok…"

"I need to make amends for what I did last night and I can't bear the idea of her having even the smallest thought that there is still something between Caroline and I. God, and it's not even just last night that I need to apologize for; it's for everything that I've done. I'm been such a goddamn idiot trying to keep all of this shit from her and you and everyone, trying to deal with all of my issues on my own. It was wrong; _I was wrong_. I can only imagine what she thinks of me right now; fuck, I can only imagine what you think of me right now. I've been a complete, controlling ass, but I'm done. It's not working and I'm done. I don't know how to share or ask for help but that's what I need to do. So, if you'll bear with me finally getting my shit together here, I'll tell you what you should have known years ago…"

* * *

That's all folks (for now)! So, what do you do now? Tell me what you think! And here's how:

Did you enjoy the novel? If you could take just a quick 2 minutes out of your night to leave Second Chances a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads ( _no purchase necessary!_ ), that would be **INCREDIBLE** (seriously!). I've worked so hard on this and sharing your review with those considering a purchase would mean the world to me. :)

Want to chat with me? Private message me or send me an email to author at drrebeccasharp dot com!

Want to know what is next? Stay updated by signing up for my mailing list on my website (I promise, you won't be bombarded): drrebeccasharp dot com

And last, follow me on here because I've been working on another project that I'm excited to give you a small peek at TOMORROW... something to hold you over while I work on giving Beth and Darcy the happy ending they deserve!

And, most importantly, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR FEEDBACK AND SUPPORT!


	31. Chapter 32

Hey everyone! Thanks again for all your support!

I've posted the preface and the first chapter of the current, original book that I'm working on, as promised! AND IM SO EXCITED! So, take a peak and let me know your thoughts! Do you like the idea? Were you intrigued? Does the premise sound interesting?

I posted it under Fifty Shades category because I didn't really know where else to stick it for right now so you'll have to go to my author page to find it. Because its not fanfiction, I'm not sure where or how much of it I'll be posting on here so once I figure all that out I'll let you know.


	32. Third Time is the Charm UPDATE

Third Time is the Charm is coming...

Chapters will be posted beginning **June 1st**!

What to do in the meantime?

1) I've created the story so follow it so that you don't miss out!

2) Take a moment and leave a review for First Impressions and/or Second Chances on **Amazon** or **Goodreads**. You DO NOT have to have purchased the book in order to leave a review - I repeat, you can leave a review even if you have NOT purchased the book. I love posting on here to get feedback from you guys and I will continue to do so. All I ask is that there are people out there who are interested in buying the book and I know they (and I) would really appreciate if you would share your thoughts on the first two books on either or both sites. I can't express how important it is for a new author to get feedback on their work and have that feedback available for others to see.

Things have been super crazy for me lately trying to finish Beth and Darcy's story so I am doing my very best. Thanks for all of your patience and support! I can't wait to share the final installment of their story with you :)

xx,

Rebecca


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